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Our lives are measured less in years, 
Than by achievements, hopes and tears. 



MODAL VERSE 

(In Two Parts) 



BY 

GEO. W. NEWTON 

Attorney at Law, Retired 



Revised and Enlarged Edition 
with Apothegms and Notes 



Decorated by 
EMMA BELL FOSTER 



HUMPHREYS & MOULE 

Printers and Binders 

Bismarck, North Dakota 

1922 






DEC -2 '22 

CU69ie69 



Serial Nnniber. 



Copyright, November, 1922 

By 

Geo. W. Newton 

Jade in the U. S. of America 
All rights reserved. 



TO 

ALL LOVERS OF VERSE 

AND AMATEURS IN VERSIFICATION 

AND LIKE FORMS OF INNOCENT FOLLY 

- AND SELF-ENTERTAINMENT 

AND RECREATION 

THIS LITTLE BOOK 

IS FRATERNALLY 

DEDICATED 



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ADVERTISEMENT TO THIS EDITION 

This little volume of verse has nov/ reached its 
second edition with some additions both in verse 
and prose. The first edition has become entirely ex- 
hausted, but the demand for it does not seem to have 
reached its limit. To the writer's knowledge it has 
gone into many parts of the country — into several 
and various States; a full list of which would em- 
brace at least the number of fifteen or more. 

Though it is known not to be perfect in its typo- 
graphical execution, nor even in all particulars in 
its composition, yet such errors are not very no- 
ticeable and probably but few readers v\ould be 
liable to notice them at all. 

Hovv^ever, there are a few errors of each class 
that should not have been permitted. This edition 
is printed for the purpose of correcting such imper- 
fections and is otherwise largely the same as the 
first, but revised and enlarged with the addition of 
some new pieces and explanatory notes. The writer 
has explained in the prefatory note (Foreword) to 
the first edition, that he lost most, or more correctly 
perhaps, many of his efforts, in the same direction, 
in a fire which consumed his living rooms and their 
contents, and therefore some of his compositions 
could not be reproduced. Such disaster has now 
been to a considerable extent remedied through the 
care and kindness of the author's sister living in 
Cincinnati, who had preserved some pieces that oth- 
erwise probably would never have come to light. 

The errors noticed that crept into the first edition 
have been carefuUv looked after in this and cor- 



rected, and thereby, it is hoped, have entirely dis- 
appeared. Great care has also been taken to prevent 
the occurrnce of any other errors, but others may 
be found notwithstanding. 

In pursuit of the ever recurring affairs of life, 
it may well be conceded, errors in execution seem 
only to emphasize the limitations in results inhering 
in every angle of human effort. 

The decorations of this edition are the same as 
those found in the first and are deemed entirely 
suitable and appropriate. Indeed, they have received 
much commendation for their manifest good taste 
and the skill of the artist — a lady of limited experi- 
ence, but a real artist in such line. 

This edition is submitted to the public in the hope 
that the reader may enjoy its contents, and that no 
critic will deem it necessary to express any very 
severe reflections regarding its mechanical execution 
or its contents. Moreover, the author has taken 
much pains not to express any thoughts not suitable 
for any person, old or young, to read at any time 
or place. 

It affords the author much gratification to say 
that its preparation has afforded him much enter- 
tainment and greatly solaced his idle hours and af- 
forded him much recreation and pleasure, for agree- 
able labor is both recreation and pleasure. 

It is moreover the author's wish that whoever 
shall be at the pains of reading it may find it at least 
useful to the same end, and, to some extent amus- 
ing and entertaining. 

Geo. W. Newton. 

Bismarck, N. D., 1922. 



MDEX 

Page 

Frontispiece Opposite page 3 

Decoration — O, World, etc 9 

—Robin Birds 17 

—Nest of Eggs 20 

Aborigines, Concept of Deity, verse 51 

Advertisement 7 

Allegory, An, verse 48 

Apothegms 62 

Author, The, picture Opposite page 3 

Beyond the Hill 40 

Bill, Kaiser 102 

Borrowed Fears 39 

Carry On, verse 52 

Concept, Spectre, verse 23 

Consolation, A Fragment, verse 44 

Dedication 5 

Dedication, to The Old Gate 87 

Deity, Aborigines' Concept of, verse 51 

Epilogue, Note to 45 

Epilogue, verse 45 

Epigraph, verse 9 

Epigraph, picture 9 

Epigram, verse 41 

Fears, Borrow^ed, verse 39 

Fears, Phantom, verse 97 

Fears, Nemesis 22 

Forev^ord 11 

Fragment, A, Unrest, verse 51 

Fragment, A, Consolation, verse 44 

France, Insistent, verse 102 

Gate, Old, The, verse 89 

Instance, An, verse 21 

Kaiser Bill, verse 102 

Lines to my Sister, deceased, verse 98 

Missouri River, The, verse 46 

Muddy, Big, The, verse 46 

Nature, verse 125 



INDEX— Continued 

Page 

Noblesse Oblige, verse 54 

Number, Serial 3 

Part Two, Introduction 81 

Preface to Apothegms 59 

River, Missouri, The, verse 46 

Robin Birds, The, picture 17 

Robin Birds, The, verse 17 

Serial Number 3 

Sonnet, verse 51 

Spectre Concept, verse 23 

Springtime, verse 48 

Stoudenmeyer, Mrs., Lines in memory of, verse 98 

Summation, verse 127 

Title Page, The Old Gate 85 

Unrest, A Fragment, verse 51 

Where North Dakota Comes In, verse 42 




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'0 [For/c/, r/2,r ^/i>/^^rr Turns' 



FOREWORD 

It may be of interest to the curious or critical 
reader of this modest little volume of verse to be 
assured that its contents were not prepared in ex- 
pectation of receiving any emolument or reward 
therefrom, for such is truly the fact. In such case, 
then, the book must be deemed in its entirety as the 
work of a mere novice or amateur : and so it is. 

The author has always been much interested in 
the study of rhetoric and kindred subjects, and inas- 
much as the duties of the profession to which his 
life has been devoted required him to give much 
attention to prose composition of a polemical and 
analytical character, he naturally, and almost in- 
stinctively, turned to versification for relaxation 
and recreation. 

The change afforded a ready and agreeable relief 
from the almost continual grind and burden of pro- 
fessional work and was in a way restful and enter- 
taining. 

The subjects treated are not numerous, but they 
are for the most part of such a nature as to lend 
themselves readily to the style of verse in which 
they are developed. 

The diction, thoughts and versification seem to 
run in perfect accord and to invest the treatment 
of the subjects with a degree of poetic harmony and 
completeness not often found in verse, especially 
in modern verse. 



(11) 



Yet it is not contended that these efforts are per- 
fect, or perhaps more than average compositions 
of their kind. However, their preparation has af- 
forded the author many hours of amusement, recre- 
ation and contentment — indeed, relaxation from 
more strenuous labors. 

Their publication at this time is attempted with 
the same end in view, except that it affords em- 
ployment of a pleasant and entertaining nature for 
what otherwise would be hours of idleness forced 
upon the author by the burden of more than four 
score years of life. 

There should be many more subjects; and no 
doubt would be, but from the fact that perhaps the 
greater part of the author's efforts in the same di- 
rection v.ere destroyed by a fire that consumed his 
living rooms and many other of his possessions. 

This explanation accounts for certain short 
pieces found herein and designated ''Fragments." 
They have been brought into the collection from 
memory, l)ut without the entire article to wdiich 
they belong. 

It is the sincere desire of the author that the 
reader may find at least a short hour of recreation 
and entertainment in their perusal, though it is not 
to be expected that the reader's enjoyment can 
equal that of the writer's, in their preparation. 

Should an apology for this publication be sought, 
it may be found in what is already disclosed in this 
prefatory note. However, such disclosures are not 
so offered, but rather as a substantial and justify- 
ing reason therefor. 

Before closing this note T desire to extend my 
grateful thanks to Wallace Campbell. Esq., and to 

(12) 



Mr. George E. Kremer, and other friends, for many 
words of encouragement and suggestions in its 
preparation and publication and without which it is 
feared neither would ever have been undertaken. 

Whoever may desire further explanation can 
gather it from a couplet by some author whose name 
is now to the writer unknown, to-wit : 

Something today and something still, 
Enough's in life a life to fill. 

G. W. N. 
Bismarck, N. Dak., July, 1921. 



(13) 



fart (§m 




THE ROBIN BIRDS 

{Merula Migratoria) 

ROBIN birds together mated 
By some sympathy they know : 
Heart to heart in strong ties wedded, 
Tvvo as one for aye united, 
More devoted still to grow ; 
Drawing each to each m.ore closely 
By the subtle cords of love, 
llian the elfin spirits ghostly 
In their fairyland above. 

Up beneath the shading cornice 
Of the porch before the door; 
There their rustic home or nest is 
And their household gods and manes. 
There have been two years or more. 
Thence by chill winds driven thither 
To the Southland warm and fair, 
Their's not love to shrink or wither: 
Their's not hope to feel despair. 



(17) 



MODAL VERSE 



When discovered it was only 
Part constructed, rough and rude, 
Yet how cunningly and swiftly 
And how certain and exactly 
'Twas completed well and good ; 
Were it rocked by storms of winter 
Till a breach came in its side, 
First replaced was ev'ry splinter 
At their coming to abide. 

Thence from time to time returning 
From the garden or the hill; 
She within the nest walls hiding. 
He the meantime close abiding 
On the nearest window sill — 
Fixed there as if sense of duty, 
Indescribable in letters. 
Or some all enchanting beauty 
Him enchained in mystic fetters. 

Soon a flutter and a whirring 
And the shadows flitting pass 
Of two objects quick and stirring. 
And but slight the vision blurring, 
Thrown in streamlets on the grass, 
And the nest is quite deserted 
And the window sill is bare, 
Yet their care is not averted 
From four eggs close nested there. 



(18) 



ROBIN BIRDS 



'Mongst the leafy boughs outreaching 
O'er the ledge across the way, 
Many birds in chorus ringing, 
Are their richest notes in singing 
In one grandest roundelay; 
And these robin birds in clearest 
Notes distinct above the rest, 
Show their joy is full, completest, 
For the eggs within the nest. 

Days and nights each with the other, 
She upon the nest and he 
On the window sill together — 
Much as ever birds of feather 
Flock unto the selfsame tree. 
Watch with closest care and tender 
O'er the eggs with growing zest, 
Till the brittle shells do render 
Four young robins in the nest. 

Now life's work when undertaken 

Is no toy to drop as soon 

As its cares to life awaken, 

And its calls and needs so hasten 

That to strive's the only boon; 

But to those who find in living 

Benefactions for its toil, 

Love of offspring, joy of serving. 

All discordant thoughts forestall. 



(19) 



MODAL VERSE 



Robin birds together caring 

For their nestlings young and frail ; 

Ever striving and contriving — 

Urge of duty them inspiring 

To provide in full detail 

For all wants — and birds have legion — 

That recurring ever stay 

In the very place and region 

Traveled o'er from day to day. 

When their days by weeks are counted 

And the nest they over-fill, 

Then to each is full recounted 

Of the dangers, swift and mounted. 

That pursue to slay and kill, 

And this brood of nestlings slender 

For themselves have life begun, 

And these robin birds can render 

Full account of duty done. 




(20) 



AN INSTANCE 



AN INSTANCE 

O'er pressed, o'er come, by ills, disease, 
I sought my chamber room, 

The catch turned in the clicking lock, 
Its bars shut out life's gloom. 

Its narrow span was broad enough. 
Its darkened windows shone, 

All friendship seemed attendant there, 
Though I was near alone. 

The doctor called, came quickly there. 

Cheerfully assuring, 
His ministrations brought results. 

Speedy convalescing. 

The moments sped on wings so swift. 

By ways I dare not name. 
My cup of bliss was full indeed, 

And so I did proclaim. 

But somehow thence, there came, alas! 

By steps not easy counted, 
A troub'ling spirit so intense, 

To all my thoughts it mounted. 

A troub'ling spirit so intense, 
That though 'twas unattended, 

All evil spirits in its train 

Might well be comprehended. 



(21) 



MODAL VERSE 



I sought its name, nor sought it long. 

For soon it was revealed, 
That Ennui forced my chamber walls 

When my disease was healed. 

I seized the catch, the bar turned back, 
The lock still clicked its voicing, 

Forth went I out into the world 
And on life's way rejoicing. 

But there are facts I must relate 

So soon did I recover, 
My faithful wife was my good nurse 

And I am still her lover. 



GOOD CHEER 

Our one great nemesis in life is fear, 

Of which the antidote's our friend. Good Cheer. 



(22) 



SPECTRE CONCEPTS 



SPECTRE CONCEPTS 

or 
VOICE AND VISION 

A Cyclorama 

CANTO ONE 

The title of this verse may sound 
As either flighty or profound; 
But neither word may e'en suggest 
The true solution, nor the best; 
So read with care and thus decide 
And with thy judgment then abide. 

This prologue new hereby essays, 
(As was the vogue in other days), 
An explanation : 

Why the need, 
Of e'en excuse for this our screed? 
(The pros and cons we here rehearse, 
By written lines in time and verse) — 
The ansvv'er is, hereby, we may 
Some critic's words severe allay; 
For critics are too harsh at times. 
And true or false, speak ill of rhymes. 
'They're not at all times, ev'ry day, 
As eulogists in ecstasy) ; 
Some fair and gentle, kind and true; 
Others both wild and wicked too. 



(23) 



MODAL VERSE 



So mild the kind are, here and there, 
The wicked seem near ev'ry where : 
The gentle ones are but a few, 
The wild may all restraints eschew. 
And rant and rave and loudly screech. 
But naught that's helpful know or teach. 
Thus then we'll learn who may deride 
Yet with what follov/s still abide. 
So there's no dread of an affray. 
Though critics do have things to say. 

Echo's no presence, good or ill, 
Whene'er she's silent, she's mere nil. 
Her aim, who knows? No one can say. 
Never at home, nor e'en away. 
Nor is she seen by day or night, 
But ever hidden — out of sight : 
She is not always at command. 
Though doubtless hiding near at hand ; 
A contradiction this may seem. 
Though it is true, and no mere dream — 
Clear paradox like "wooden horse," 
Or "Spectre concept" of mere voice; 
Without a figure, young or old. 
She is both impudent and bold. 
For when she speaks, 'tis in refrain 
Of what she's heard in words and strain 
An uninvited guest that's found 
But never welcomed — just around. 
A phantom voice that mere repeats 
Whate'er she's heard and then retreats. 
And so she's not by self a fact — 
Mere mocking sprite, in ways exact. 
(24) 



SPECTRE CONCEPTS 



Echo from distance speaks but low, 

'Tis nature's way at times we know; 

Sound waves much lessen, when they meet 

In mere reflection, or retreat 

Far out — a long way from the word 

From which the mocking answer's heard. 

Echo's reflection's but a sound. 

Nor substance is e'en on the ground : 

It starts right here, responding there, 

And never's else than in the air: 

At first distinct, then faint it grows. 

As off and yon it further goes. 

Thus : HERE — Here — here — no sound is left, 

So clearly it but mocks itself. 

It's naught that is, but only seems, 

Like voices heard at times in dreams. 

Thus Echo leaves no shadow fair, 

But disappears out in the air. 

Now Mode's a spectre, not a song, 
Echo's mere voice, or soft or strong. 
They're out by chance, as phantoms meet, 
And friends at once become, and sweet. 
Mode and Echo are now such chums. 
That whence one goes the other comes; 
So they are often known as pals, 
If where one is the other dwells. 
Thus each and both abound, as need, 
True cosmopolitans indeed. 
They're often met, or there or here. 
Mode we vision. Echo we hear, 
Each as each, mere fays and elves, 
Seem but reflections, thus themselves. 
(25) 



MODAL VERSE 



J^.Iode seeks utility and so, 

At times, Dame Fashion's latest show 

Of shades, of colors, forms and style: 

So Fashion's mistress for the while : 

Thus, "Paris in flames," once she had. 

Then, "in ashes," both new and sad; 

Each clear reminder of the fact, 

That was too true and too exact. 

The list's too long here to compile, 

As such display would none beguile: 

The samples noted clear disclose 

The source from which their names arose. 

VVe would more state, in list complete, 

If useful end we'd thereby meet: 

As Homer in his verse did show 

The names of Grecian ships you know. 

But Frenchmen are that brave we hear, 

A warlike race that nothing fear; 

So in trade names recall war not, 

As sooner thus 'twill be forgot. 

Now Paris is a famous town, 
For years on years, of high renown; 
Live city that straightway revives 
Whate'er its fate, and still survives. 
Once home of Royalty and Kings, 
And gangs of Courtiers too and "rings"; 
More tyranny of rank and pride 
Than Frenchmen ever could abide: 
The commune rose, tore up the town, 
And mobs broke out, despite the crown. 
And soon or late, defied the throne, 
Yet Paris stood and held her own. 
(26) 



SPECTRE CONCEPTS 



Thus she has all her foes withstood, 
Through fortune ill and fortune good : 
At times perhaps within and near, 
At other times great armies were. 
A jealous prince of neighbor crown. 
In search of glory and renown. 
Would seek to humble or abate 
So great a people and their state, 
But in or out or far or near. 
Did any enemy appear, 
The French stood firm and met the fray. 
Until the foe should fade away. 
Thus Paris rose and in her might. 
Soon drove all vandals from her sight. 
By sieges wrecked, anon restored, 
Till now she stands the ''final word." 
So Paris is, the French opine. 
Quite all of France, to outer line. 
(Thus Frenchmen are so keen a folk. 
They paradox for tgg, its yolk). 
That is, mankind must now agree. 
All France is French, and so must we. 

'Twas fashion through freak names besought 
To lure the trade that sold and bought. 
But what's the need that we should here 
Cause such sad notions to appear. 
From their account then turn aside. 
That Mode hence on may be our guide. 

Now Fashion is mere show bizarre. 
Of all new^ styles that ever are: 
But Mode's conservative and true. 



(27) 



MODAL VERSE 



In things substantial, right and new. 
So Mode is worthy, we portend. 
And chiefly serves some useful end : 
Echo and Mode out by the way, 
As phantoms were there on display — 
And there they were, there did abide 
'Till mode sought fortune, naught beside 
Thus then they dwell as phantoms fair, 
And each as each a friendly pair. 
Fashion is flighty — light, in fact. 
While Mode's more stable and exact. 
Mode is not vain, but her design 
Is fixed and firm as thine or mine. 
She trades and traffics, buys to sell, 
Do shekels come her way 'tis well: 
In trade she's a self-serving guide, 
And seeks for nothing much beside. 
'Tis thus she serves each mart in kind. 
All else she shuns or leaves behind. 
But first and foremost, so's our lay, 
She's nothing much but mere display. 
Echo and Mode, as each so each. 
The end we seek and hereby reach. 

We've thus far brought our theme along, 
'Tis not quite true, nor yet too strong. 
Vision and voice are phantom's names 
For Mode and Echo in these rhymes. 
So when you read such words as these. 
Just call to mind their meaning please. 
Mode is vision. Echo is voice. 
And so continue through this verse; 



(28) 



SPECTRE CONCEPTS 



Thus when you meet them you may know 
The reason why they're used so. 

Now Echo's naught but mocking voice, 

And Mode's mere mimicry in choice, 

Yet they are germane, as we say, 

But scarcely in the natal way. 

Unto the eyes they're not of kin, 

But that's mere gauze and quite too thin. 

Echo's a phantom, fay or elf, 

Just out for pleasure by herself, 

And Mode's another, out for pelf. 

Each end thus sought speaks for itself. 

So these two names keep well in mind, 

But hold them germane, understand — 

Echo, we add, seeks joy and fun, 

Mode mere display, lucre and ''mon." 

'Tis true one is mock words exact, 
Minus one thought her own in fact. 
Echo repeats what words she hears, 
Mere naught to eyes, okeh to ears. 
Neither exploits the narrow truth, 
Nor e'en desists because of ruth; 
Neither is sole — nor e'en dual — 
But each to other's much a pal. 

Who sings, or chants, or whistles shrill, 

Echo in like will answer still : 

In room, or cave, on hill, in hall. 

Echo responds like way to all : — 

Nor stream, nor lake, nor other cause, 

Conditions right, can give her pause. 



(29) 



MODAL VERSE 



Although she mocks what notes she's heard, 

She is not else a mocking bird. 

Where'er she may, so we are told. 

Such game she plays, both fresh and bold. 

Now Mode's much like the octopus, 
With tentacles two score and plus — 
To right, to left, she reaches out, 
And rear and front, and all about; 
She's service to and in all trade, 
A profit wanton, on parade. 
Rich robed in style, and suave and kind, 
She sweetly aids each one to find. 
To buy, discuss, to view, decline: 
Always the same and near divine. 
Occasions are when they may mix. 
Result — mere cycloramic tricks. 
Though nothng much but a concept. 
Remove the spectre, naught is left. 
Indeed each seems much like a fake. 
As neither's true for truth's own sake — 
So thus we leave them, but exact. 
They're more in concept than in fact. 

Now then again we here may add 
:V further showing, not so bad, 
Here near the end. before we quit, 
Tis true, 'tis fair, 'tis clear and fit: 
Two, Mode and Echo, each bizarre. 
Texts both of metaphysics are, 
So each may mingle in and mix 
With each in philosophic tricks. 
And e'en to physics cling and stick, 

(30) 



SPECTRE CONCEPTS 



So thus we learn they are germane, 
And so for ail time must remain, 
Each in her way : — 

Words are perverse, 
Freaky in rhyme — quite so in verse — 
Too often run in ways diverse. 
Get out of place — at times "reverse," 
But English is a tongue superb, 
In scriven line or spoken word; 
Each well constructed sentence reads 
Both plain and clear — nor word it needs 
Of explanation: 

Mode may splurge, 
Echo join in and mock and urge, 
But what results, they fakers are 
At all such times, and both bizarre. 

The ensemble of this our rhyme, 
Is English strictly and in time : 
Echo mere spectre, voice and ears. 
Not e'en a substance, nothing fears. 
Mode as display of much emprise, 
Invites attention from all eyes : 
So Mode is vision, first of this. 
And then of that, and so she is. 
She comes and goes, but still exists. 
And late and early just persists. 
Above it all she's mere concept, 
Of things that are passe or apt. 

Here now we drop the double theme 
That Mode and Echo may be seen 
And heard, each in her formal way, 

(31) 



MODAL VERSE 



Echo is mocking, Mode, display. 

As huntsmen through the world they fare. 

Nor heeding either whence or where. 

Thus far we only intimate, 

Now each like other demonstrate; 

Henceforth in form and in the main. 

Mode's style of speech, Echos refrain. 

Their ways thus shown in the concrete, 

Come full in view and quite complete: 

Whoso stops now too much forgoes, 

So read right on until the close. 

CANTO TWO 

Hereby's a story told in rhyme. 
With scores in form and perfect time : 
Echo's response is, "perfect time." 

Both parts are true, correct but strange, 
So first we need them to arrange : 
Echo replying, ''to arrange." 

The subject's two fold, one's a fact. 

The other ditto — words exact : 

Echo, mere voice, shouts, "words exact". 

She speaks too often, never wrong, 
But apropos and sometimes strong: 
Echo's response is, "sometimes strong". 

She apes the phonograph, 'tis said. 
But only ventures as she's led : 
Echo's response is, "as she's led". 



(32) 



SPECTRE CONCEPTS 



She never gives her thoughts away, 
But filches words for mere display : 
Echo replying, ''mere display". 

She is a mocker, vain and shy. 
That's never seen by mortal eye : 
Echo's refrain is, "mortal eye". 

She never meets one face to face, 
So her accjuaintance's no disgrace : 
Echo remarking, "no disgrace". 

One might as well talk to one's self, 
As she is naught else than an elf : 
Echo consenting, "than an elf." 

If she were aught but voice and sound, 
She'd speak some thought, perhaps profound 
Echo's refrain, "perhaps profound". 

She is not true, the old time fraud. 
Though often seeming much abroad: 
Echo's refrain is, "much abroad". 

She's not a shadow, fair nor true, 

"For shadows cast their shadows too" :* 

Echo's refrain is, "shadows too". 



*Back in 1860 in what would now be deemed an old num- 
ber of "Littell's Living Age," I read the following verse : 

Strange to relate, yet wonderfully true, 
E'en shadows cast their shadows too. 

I have no idea by whom it may have been written, nor have 
I met with it since in any of my reading. 



MODAL VERSE 



'Tis not our purpose to defend 

The mocking jade — not e'en a friend: 

Echo's response, *'not e'en a friend". 

We drop her here as hot or cold. 

But she remains both "fresh" and bold: 

Echo repeating, "fresh and bold". 

So Echo chants her mocking say, 

Verse after verse in this one way : 

The words last heard, thus, "this one way". 

So now we turn from Canto two, 
To learn what mischief she may do : 
Echo repeating, "she may do". 

For still she seems, the time, to mix. 
And all along to play at tricks : 
Echo remarking, "play at tricks". 

Echo so far has come along 
Without one note, her own, of song : 
She stops and flirts, coquettes and starts. 
But ne'er displays old Cupid's darts. 
We've led her on through Canto two. 
And thus we've learned what she can do. 
So now we're up with Canto three. 
Does Echo mock? Read on and see. 
If she can some way aid our lay, 
Then surely she's not in the way; 
But otherwise, so we premise, 
She mocks, and mocks, all enterprise. 
So here v/e take her through the door 
To Mode's display of styles galore. 



(34) 



SPECTRE CONCEPTS 



Should Echo mock at the facade 

Then surely she's a silly jade. 

So now we'll leave her on the side, 

And henceforth on make Alode our guide. 

CANTO THREE 

Now here we view through verse and rhyme, 
Live pictures as in pantomime : 
Echo's refrain is, ''pantomime". 

A spectre female, nows our lay, 
Mere concept of her sex today : 
Echo repeating ''sex today". 

A filmy concept is such theme. 
Clear spectre of a waking dream : 
Echo's response is, "waking dream". 

We've seen such visions by the score. 
Through Fashion's ever open door : 
Echo repeats thus, "open door". 

She seems as morning's bright display. 
Of sunshine at the break of day: 
Echo's response is, "break of day". 

Her name is legion, understand, 

Her home, now, is throughout the land : 

Echo responds, "throughout the land". 

She rivals Venus from the sky. 
In ev'ry living mortal's eye : 
Echo repeating, "mortal's eye". 

(35) 



MODAL VERSE 



In Fashion's mirror ever right, 
And modish in the critic's sight : 
Echo replying, ''critic's sight". 

She's well disposed to'ards ev'ry one, 
Though the great mass she seems to shun : 
Echo's response is, ''seems to shun". 

She travels here and there and yon, 
Naught but the Mode's apparel on : 
Echo repeats, "apparel on". 

Much wonderment do all express. 
At the perfection of her dress : 
Echo's response is, "of her dress". 

Her step is light e'en as a queen's, 
In ev'ry sense she's as she seems : 
Echo's response is, "as she seems". 

Her skirt? Nor short, nor long, nor broad. 
Negates suggestion of the bawd : 
Echo soft whispers, "of the bawd". 

Her boots are modish, and disclose. 
No lingerie save silken hose : 
Echo's response is, "silken hose". 

Her form a model, trim and chaste, 
A-11 robed in perfect care and taste : 
Echo's refrain is, "care and taste". 

Hats she sports of styles aplenty. 
Each her choice from four and twenty : 
Echo respon.ds, "four and twenty". 



(36) 



SPECTRE CONCEPTS 



Of fair complexion — eyes of blue; 
Her tresses dark, and seemly too: 
Echo's response is, "seemly too". 

Her lily neck, true pearls embrace, 
In streamlets circling o'er rich lace: 
Echo repeating, *'o'er rich lace". 

In solitaires and clusters grand, 
Rich gems she sports on either hand: 
Echo's response is, "either hand". 

At such display, who can withhold 
The thoughts of lucre and of gold: 
Echo's response is, "and of gold". 

A phantom she — a sun ray beam, 
So her approach and presence seem: 
Echo's refrain, "and presence seem." 

Her words are plentiful but few, 
Her thoughts all chaste, select and new 
Echo's refrain, "select and new". 

No end of beaux, met cold and froze. 
But why so minded no one knows : 
Echo's response is, "no one knows". 

And yet she'd like some man to wed. 
In kind remembrance of one dead : 
Echo's refrain is, "of one dead". 

Scarce more there is that can be said, 
Except her's is a level head : 
Echo's refrain is, "level head". 

(37) 



MODAL VERSE 



Her teeth snow white and pearly seem, 
'Tis true, indeed, she is a dream : 
Echo asserts, ''she — is — a — dream". 

Such spectres all have met betimes, 
But few have told thereof in rhymes : 
Echo's refrain "thereof in rhymes". 

All further thoughts we now forego, 
But list ! there's something more to know 
Echo's refrain is, ''more to know". 

Her lips ! Ah me ! A friendly kiss. 
Would top the acme of all bliss : 
Echo consenting, "of all bliss". 

A kiss ! Oh Joy ! We say no more, 
But stop right now, and close the door : 
Echo's command is, '*close — the — door". 



MORAL 

This verse is all both chaste and true, 

Fair critique of some styles we view : 

Mode's for the modiste, but a sign, 

A mere illusion of design 

To move the cash of friend and foe. 

As here they come or there they go : 

And Echo speaks her own no word, 

But mere repeats what she has heard; 

So bear in mind. Echo's a sprite 

Of mocking voice — mere naught to sight. 

Dame Fashion's each new style's display, 



(38) 



SPECTRE CONCEPTS 



But tempts the spendthrift's vanity. 
And Mode's just speaking for herself, 
And all who seek the coign of pelf, 
Thus Mode's one care is the amount 
That's in her checking bank account. 



BORROWED FEARS 

Who seeks to live with borrowed fears, 
O'erburdens self and squanders years; 
While he who hopes and smiles and lives, 
Meets all the pleasures that life gives : — 
The moral is — from thought expel 
Vain fears unknown, and all is well. 



(39) 



MODAL VERSE 



BEYOND THE HILL 

The hidden Future is but time between 

The passing moment and a point unseen, 

That may be near, or far or farther still, 

No one can say, as 'tis beyond the hill. 

And hidden closely where soe'er it be, 

But waits in patience for both you and me. 

Each meets it singly — once forsooth is all — 

None may avoid it — none indeed forestall. 

Where'er it is, there waits in silent ease. 

Perhaps to sadden, or perchance to please : 

Alluring splendor glowing as the sun. 

Or threat'ning shadows gath'ring, drear and wan. 

The line that marks life's boundary in years, 

As well should stand the limit of its fears. 

Always unseen, there square across the way. 

Where joy should greet us, or alas! what may? 

'Tis conscience brightens life, as morn the dew. 

And smiling meets the final change and new. 

Does conscience guide, with steadfast purpose wait 

The last denouement, trustfully, elate. 

Vov God is just, forgiving all He can 

Of wrongs committed by weak erring man. 

"To err is human — to forgive, divine." 

So it is written in Pope's quoted line. 

To conscience listen — to its gentle voice, 

And heed its guidance, as the better choice. 

Each life thus guided, through its even way, 

Should end most happ'ly at the last great day. 



(40) 



BEYOND THE HILL 



For conscience is kind nature's safest guide, 

And followed truly, turns from wrong aside. 

Thus life may leave a record — not of ill — 

But faithful service, and its pages fill. 

A full fair record of each thought and act. 

Without evasion, truthful and exact; 

That The All Wise One scanning as He will. 

May note — a welcome — there beyond the hill ; 

And Him each servant, from such judgment day, 

Shall, ever after, praise in ecstasy. 



EPIGRAM 
By preterition, rhetoricians show, 
Each claimed omission, be it true or no. 



(41) 



MODAL VERSE 



WHERE NORTH DAKOTA COMES IN 

Up where the Morning's Glow seems 

some Httle nearer, 
Up where the Mid-day Sun shines 

some Httle clearer, 
Up where the Ev'ning's star shows 

some little better, 
Up where the Coming Night waits 

Some little later, 
There's where North Dakota comes in. 

Up where the Falling Rains seem 

some little fresher, 
Up where the Spreading Fields reach 

some little further, 
Up where the Waving Grass seems 

some little greener, 
Up where the Zest of Life seems 

some little keener. 
There's where North Dakota comes in. 

Up where the Rushing Winds seem 

some little stronger. 
Up where the Winter's Snow lasts 

some little longer, 
Up where the Neighbor's Heart seems 

some little warmer. 
Up where the Hands we Clasp seem 

some little fonder, 
There's where North Dakota comes in. 



(42) 



WHERE NORTH DAKOTA COMES IN 

Up where the Friends we Meet seem 

some Httle nearer, 
Up where all Womankind seems 

some little dearer, 
Up \vhere Rewards of Life seem 

some little surer. 
Up where Life's Failing Aims seem 

some little few^er. 
There's where North Dakota comes in. 

Up where the Twinkling Stars seem 

of greater numbers, 
Up where the Summer Nights bring 

refreshing slumbers. 
Up where each Maiden Eve seems 

some little neater. 
Up where each Mother's son seeks 

some other's sister. 
There's where North Dakota comes in. 

Up where the Air we Breathe seems 

some little fresher, 
L^p where the Mead of Life seems 

some little swxeter. 
Up where no Living Soul needs fear 

the tyrant's rod. 
Up where all Forms of Life can note 

the care of God. 
There's where North Dakota comes in. 



(43) 



MODAL VERSE 



Who hits the trail to this fair state, 
And toils within its pale; 

Finds Opportunity in wait 
To pass him out the Kale, 

So now indeed, we end our lay 
And thoughts or sad, remote; 

Who settles here to toil and stay, 
Must meet enthusing hope. 



CONSOLATION, A FRAGMENT 

So rage as Hate will, violence to do, 
Love standing by us softens every blow, 
And where death enters, be it there or here, 
Prepares a welcome and attends the bier. 



(44) 



EPILOGUE 



EPILOGUE 



NOTE: In the year 1879 the writer accepted an invita- 
tion from the local Post of the Grand Army of the Re- 
public at St. Albans, Vermont, to deliver the Memorial Day 
address, May 30th of that year. He took for his subject, 
'*The Citizen Soldier." The address was printed in full on 
such day, in the local paper, Col. Albert Clarke, editor, but 
it is not now procurable from the local office, as the writer 
learned in 1921. The original address was destroyed in 
the maner mentioned in the prefatory note, (Foreword), 
Supra. The writer has since received a complete copy of 
the paper containing the address from his sister living in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, as explained in the Advertisement in this 
edition, supra. The Epilogue follows : 



The picture, its army, its dead, its brave; 
Worn out in service, wasted to the grave; 
Life's burden borne, opportunity met, 
Though passed from Hfe live in remembrance yet; 
Their memory cherished, their example 
Reviewed in detail shows the measure full; 
Cut off by hatred in the prime of youth, 
Rushed on to glory, martyrs to the truth; 
Thence gone on before, yet the portals stand 
Swung open widely and each spirit hand 
Points to the banner waving o'er the land. 
And each voice is shouting, "Hail to the end, 
Flag of liberty, ensign of the free." 
God's justice rules, then thrice happy is he 
To whom it is permitted, at the wall. 
Fighting for the right, wounded, there to fall. 



(45) 



MODAL VERSE 



THE MISSOURI RIVER 

AQNOUEN 
THE BIG MUDDY 

Majestic River! Stream of ill repute — 

Hence borne for m3^stic ages ! Thy ill fame 

Is self created, fix'd beyond refute, 

And world-wide known, adhering to thy name : 

Thy source is the wild Trident of the hills, 

And mountain's heights — o'erspread with melting 

snow — 
Legions of brooklets — scores of rippling rills. 
Together meeting in thy bed below. 
Majestic River! formed by Nature's hand — 
Nor art, nor skill, nor line, nor chosen way, 
Was ever shown thee through the arid land 
Whence flow thy waters, as they ever may : — 
Thus nature and thy own insensate self 
Lead all thy waters to the waiting gulf. 

Thy course is guided by thy bed and banks — 
Thy bed and banks and waters are thy all. 
And none are stable — so are nature's pranks : 
Thy banks fall in — thy waters rise and fall — 
Thy bed is shifty — chiefly silt and sand; 
Unstable stuff! Right here in place today. 
Tomorrow thy last channel may be land. 
And then next morrow may have mov'd away. 
Thy currents are not swift, or over strong: 
The sailor man may stem them without fear. 
And so does often, whether short or long. 
And up and down his loaded boat may steer. 

(46) 



THE MISSOURI RIVER 



Majestic River ! what delight to know ! 
Thy end in fact is not alone mere show. 

The seasons are oft changing, warm and cold : 
Summer and v/inter, autumn, springtime — with care 
Each comes and goes — winter both harsh and bold — 
Springtime with all surviving things that are 
Most welcome — with its bounteous largess — 
Summer, with its harvest time and harvest : 
And autumn's fading picture— so all pass 
In due time — none seems altogether best 
For thee, O River! in winter ice-bound, 
In summer shrivel'd by exceeding heat : 
Thy spring's uprise and overflow are found 
Quite harmless, nor fear'd in their mild retreat — 
Thy moods O, River! a delightful study! 
Fittingly thy Agnomen — The Big Muddy. 

Majestic River ! Mightiest of streams. 

Whoso attended or alone may stand 

Upon thy firm high banks, and musing — dreams, 

And thinks he sees the world at its last end, 

Is witness only of the springtime plight. 

That nature meets out to old winter's frost, 

And spring takes over in its rapid flight : 

Though through such process naught of nature's 

lost — 
Thy rushing waters drifting far and near, 
And floating ice-cubes — roods of them therein, 
Whirlpools and eddies — drift and dirt appear, 
Confusion in action, often, now and then : 
In all thy swift and erratic changes, 
'Tis thy debacle and so its name is. 

(47) 



MODAL VERSE 



SPRINGTIME 

(An Allegory) 

Whereas Old Sol has crossed the line 
And Winter's on its holiday — 
Sir March's demis'd from short decline, 
And springtime's here upon its wa}^ — 
Aprille coquetting, many ways, 
With snow and frost and change galore- 
A maid of moods — or nights or days — 
As was her custom years before — 
Sunshine and warmth at her recall, 
The earth o'erspreads w^ith mantle green- 
The forests and the brambles all 
Abound in leaves and buds are seen : — 
What time she tarries, not so long — 
Decades, just three, no more, of days ; 
When sister May, much like a song. 
Comes to the' fore in her own ways. 

Now May has come — a maiden too — 
With mien more steady, not less gay — 
Aprille's relieved — she now is through — 
And here the spring o'ertakes sweet May 
So mark the change — or here or there— - 
No trifling intercourse, we know. 
With snow or frost or chilling air. 
Though on occasion all bestow, 
Uncalled, their presence at the meet . 
Fair maiden May with grace and charm. 
And ways most gentle and elite — 
In naught suggests the least of harm — 



(48) 



SPRINGTIME 



But coaxes and with zonal breeze 
Brings out the buds and blossoms gay. 
And o'er all nature — plants and trees — 
Her favors spreads in rich display. 

Aprille and May — just two full months — 

One freakish, but the other staid — 

Each the other boldly confronts, 

As neither 's of the other 'fraid. 

Thus far 'tis clear, we've had as guests, 

Sisters of Spring — rough days and fair — 

It may not prove, but it suggests, 

That storm-days come and bright days are- 

IMartha and Mary — sisters twain, 

A simile much talked about, 

And so to make the story plain, 

And fully test its credit out. 

Sisters they were in very fact. 

Saints Luke and John are so agreed, 

A goodly tale, oft told, exact — 

That's all we note — 'tis true indeed. 

Now of the Graces there's a line. 
Through May to June, whence all do go — 
Their favors are most gay, sublime, 
For May, sweet maid, has made them so— 
Her handiwork is neat and trim — 
Attention shapes all in design — 
Her touch awakens life w^ithin 
Each bud contain'd — Oh touch divine! 
No favor shown — or there or here — 
Her sweet compassion reaches all — 
Her love goes forth, or far or near — 

(49) 



MODAL VERSE 



No living germ may miss its call : 
Her breezes chant their matin song — 
The birds and insects it assume 
And all together move along 
Into the sister month of June. 

'Twas Coleridge, wrote the fairest line, 

In prose or verse 'tween pole and pole, 

Thus : "In the leafy month of June." 

And deeply touched each living soul, 

Each soul that loves a happy thought, 

Or grateful word or cheery line — 

As all should love, yea, truly ought — 

But those were days of Auld Lang Syne : — 

Sweet June's allotment of the spring 

Is just above a score of days — 

Whence there she goes philandering 

Into the shade of summer's bays — 

A fickle maiden there she stands, 

With smiles once parted 'twixt two friends — 

The last now holds her willing hands, 

And hence this tale here quickly ends. 



(50) 



THE ABORIGINES' CONCEPT OF DEITY 

THE ABORIGINES' CONCEPT OF 
THE DEITY 

SONNET 

How rich the theme — its magnitude and might 
O'erwhelm the judgment and outrun the mind :• — 
The untaught savage through long years of night 
Sought for some spirit that he could not find; 
At last to end the so long reaching cjuest, 
Divin'd a spirit of the dual kind : 
In anger, rampant, but in grace at rest, 
And thus it shows a nature ill or kind : — 
The elements if normal note its smiles — 
The raging floods, and waters, hail or sleet — 
Clouds rushing o'er the sky and winter's gales, 
The lightning's flash, the thunder's rumbling feet— 
Vre spirits ill and illy satiate — 
Naught but atonement can propitiate. 



UNREST, A FRAGMENT 

A rending shaft, thy furtive glance, 
A pang, a flutter at my breast. 

My Dove is flown; remains, perchance, 
The hungry Raven of unrest. 



(51) 



MODAL VERSE 



•'CARRY ON" 

In divers prints we read each day, 

The world-war was a horror : 
The Teutons sought by war's essay, 

And hate dispensing terror, 
To awe their foes, alhed and bold 

In union, French liaison — 
The rush was met in manifold, 

And the war went swiftly on. 

No word is found, no English word, 

Or French, so far as we know, 
Nor plain command in near accord 

That in fair meaning may show 
The thought that moved the Briton right 

When he essay'd contention, 
But Tommy knew he was to fight 

By the order, "Carry on." 

So "Carry on" became a phrase 

Of war-time force and favor, 
And moved the Britons to engage 

The foe with might and furore. 
But not in hate, or dread or fear. 

So brave men fight and battle, 
But "Carry on," or there or here, 

And thus their issues settle. 

The world is as a stricken field, 
Great projects gauge its battles, 

Which some do win, while others yield ; 
Live issues, nothing settles. 



(52) 



CARRY ON 



Who looks ahead and wisely far, 
And pursues the safer run, 

Attains success, his aim, his star 
And thereby the day is won. 

Life's chief est urge is "Carry on," 

But names no fix'd direction, 
Its course an age long Marathon, 

That ends in slight elation : — 
The way is steep — severe indeed — 

Part old — some new — much hidden — 
Ail must attempt, while few succeed, 

For so the Fates have bidden. 

So "Carry on" is the command, 

Nor hesitate, nor falter; 
The puzzling query still does stand, 

To-wit : Why is a piker ? 
Efficiency acclaims the meet — 

Attention notes its measure, 
While Service keeps the score complet( 

Achievement counts the treasure. 



(53) 



MODAL VERSE 



NOBLESSE OBLIGE 

{Rank Imposes Obligation) 
I 

In olden times, when men were not 

So very wise and Christian, 
As now they are, or claim to be, 

Whatever their condition, 
The heir apparent to the throne, 

Or any priv'leged station. 
By these two words was taught to know^ 

His duty to the nation : — 
Noblesse oblige. 

II 

Such time was when to common men, 

How worthy their pretention. 
No honors came, except it were 

By royal condescension, 
So the ''elect" might well expect. 

Should they be any wanting. 
The less refined of every kind 

Would look on them as vaunting: — 
Noblesse oblige. 

Ill 
Hence, then, this truth, for high born youth, 

Some special potense carried. 
To some extent, at least, it meant 

Decrease of station parried; 
But now at last, from natal caste, 

Is man emancipated, 

(54) 



NOBLESSE OBLIGE 



And honors are for any '*star," 
No matter how related : — 
Noblesse oblige. 

IV. 

It is no flighty, light romance, 

Nor moral pointed fable, 
A grandest constable* of France, 

A baron high and noble. 
Did this device choose as his own, 

His 'scutcheon to emblazon, 
From which with us, by being known, 

His greatest fame has risen : — 
Noblesse oblige. 

V 

This feudal chief thus emphasized 

A most important lesson, 
Imposed by ethics or devised 

To make a clear impression. 
And his design — the same is mine — • 

Was through the world's extension 
To man's vast duties here in life 

*In the original stanza a reference was here inserted to a 
note at the end which reads as follows, to-wit : 

A French feudal family by the name of Montmorenci, 
whose members were styled "the first barons of France," 
or "the first Christian barons" had a motto, "Dieu aide au 
premier Baron chretien." Many of the members of this 
family held high office in France, such as grand constable, 
marshal, grand admiral, etc., and one of the greatest who 
was a grand constable, adopted this well known device as 
his own — "Noblesse oblige," Nobility has its duties. This 
was also a lesson strongly urged upon the youth of noble 
birth as an incentive to high aspirations and honorable 
deeds. 



(55) 



MODAL VERSE 



To call each one's attention : — 
Noblesse oblige. 

VI 

Of none, indeed, can it be said, 

He ov/es nor debt nor burden, 
No living soul can claim, in truth. 

No duty as a guerdon; 
For whate'er place in life to fill, 

Are set or thoughts or powers, 
This maxim should all minds possess, 

This motto brief be ours: — 
Noblesse oblige. 

VII 
'Tis all the same, whatever place 

Or station may be sought for; 
The same response, the same refrain. 

Who loiters or may labor; 
The novice young and eager quite, 

For any fray or venture, 
Eftsoons apprenticed is to life. 

Finds it in his indenture: — 
No1)lesse oblige. 

VIII 
The man who guides the plow afield, 

The servant at the larder. 
The money king upon the search 

For trade and gold and barter; 
The statesman, he does find it true, 

Each soldier of the nation. 
The lawyer and the doctor too, 

(56) 



NOBLESSE OBLIGE 



And each of ev'ry station : — ■ 
Noblesse oblige. 
IX 
The ruler of a people great; 
The follower of fashion; 
Within the town or out of it, 

Each life has its reflection: — 
Like pebble cast into the sea, 

That moves some slight inflation, 
Increasing on and reaching forth. 
To all in some relation : — 
Noblesse oblige. 
X 
Does he escape of pulpit fame? 

Does any on the ocean? 
The workman at his toil and sweat, 

Whatever his devotion? 
The mother with her infant dear? 

As certain too the father? 
The schoolboy and the master stern? 
The sister and the brother? 
Noblesse oblige. 
XI 
The field is broad, the way direct, 
Outreaching from some center; 
Who starts, with wisdom must select 

His course, to shun disaster. 
But even then, with watchful care, 

The sought for end may 'scape him. 
For pitfalls are both here and there. 
In hiding to defeat him : — 
Noblesse oblige. 
(57) 



MODAL VERSE 



XII* 

In life a keeper is, forsooth, 

Each one of ev'ry other, 
From station low to station high, 

The keeper of his brother. 
In ev'ry rank and ev'ry grade, 

Hovv^ great or few its powers, 
The situation is the same, 

Perforce this motto's ours — 
Noblesse oblige. 

XIII 
Then never cease in hope to toil, 

E'en strive without cessation. 
For life on all in ev'ry age 

Imposes obligation. 
And He who gives the work to do, 

Creator of creation, 
No service leaves without reward. 

So serve in exi>ectation : — 
Noblesse oblige. 



♦An explanation at this point seems proper. In the 
original of the piece stanza XI of this edition was not in- 
serted, but another was prepared and printed for stanza 
XII of this edition. The original No. XI is No. XII herein, 
and both No. XI and No. XII were lost from the original 
ms., but No. XII was supplied from memory. No. XI and 
XII of the original are both shown herein and it is be- 
lieved with some improvements. 



(58) 



APOTHEGMS 



PREFATORY NOTE TO APOTHEGMS 

It seems necessary, or perhaps desirable is the 
better word, at this point in this little volume, that 
a few lines of explanation should appear. Hence 
this brief prefatory note of introduction. The re- 
quirement arises chiefly from the fact that at this 
place a change in the form of composition occurs — 
a change, more or less, radical in many respects, 
though both forms are properly enough within the 
meaning of the general title of the collection, Modal 
Verse, when clearly understood and liberally con- 
strued. The thoughts and sentiments contained in 
the following paragraphs and excerpts — we have 
herein entitled them Apothegms — are taken almost 
literally from the address delivered by the author at 
St. Albans, Vermont, on Memorial Day, May 30th, 
1879, at the request of the local Post of the Grand 
Army of the Republic. (See note under title Epil- 
ogue, Supra). The address was closed with the 
verse found under such title. 

There is no material change in any of the thoughts 
or sentiments expressed in any such paragraph, 
verse or apothegm as herein shown, though the 
forms of introduction in a few instances are slight- 
ly modified in the interest of harmony and to con- 
form with the difference in circumstances under 
which they were originally prepared and under 
which they are now appearing. They were of course 
in the first instance prepared in connection with 
other thoughts and sentiments making and consti- 
tuting in a way. a continuous showing and connect- 

(59) 



MODAL VERSE 



ed argument in support of the main theme of the 
address, and to be read or spoken to a promiscuous 
pubHc audience, and to be more or less emphasized 
as might appear necessary to give them the proper 
force and meaning desired ; whereas, as they appear 
herein they are only to be perused by the reader and 
emphasized in his own way and in accordance with 
each reader's judgment and understanding. Of 
course the reasoning as shown herein is more or less 
elliptical and broken, but notwithstanding, the ar- 
gument can be easily followed to its conclusion. 

The war that led to the establishment of Memor- 
ial Day was a v/ar, on the part of the victors, that 
could not be avoided ; any other conclusion is not to 
be thought of as it would have resulted in the dis- 
memberment of a Nation with the most democratic 
and liberal government in the known vvorld. Such 
government was established in resistance to royal 
prerogative. But it compromised of necessity with 
the canker of discord inherited from its progenitors, 
and therefore malignant within its own borders. 
From such source arose a factional dispute between 
the North and the South. Civilization became 
aroused and the emeute of Harper's Ferry follow- 
ed, and for which John Brown, its leader, an abol- 
itionist, paid the extreme penalty of the law. Cer- 
tain of the Southern States, being mostly pro sla- 
very in belief and interest, followed the example of 
Harper's Ferry, but in a different direction, and the 
war between the States followed. So there was no 
other alternative than civil war with its horrors and 
sacrifices. On the part of the final victors it was 

(60) 



APOTHEGMS 



entirely defensive. No compromise or pe?LCtiu\ ar- 
rangement of the issues seemed possible. At last, 
after due notice, the Commander in Chief of the 
Army and Navy of the Federal government, Presi- 
dent Abraham Lincoln, invoked by proclamation, 
the war power of the Nation and the canker of dis- 
cord was removed and in due time the patient heal- 
ed — justice 3,nd right prevailed and civilization took 
a long step forward. The act of the President was 
endorsed by the Congress and the requisite number 
of states and the principles of the proclamation be- 
came permanent. The war in question is clearly to 
be distinguished in many respects from the horrors 
of the late World War of Europe. The former 
raised no such revulsion of feelin(>- against war in 
general as the latter. On the part of the Union the 
war between the States was unavoidable — it was 
merely a defensive war — nothing other — and its 
sacrifices could not rightfully be avoided. Hence 
the sentiments of the Apothegms. Though they do 
not seem to conform in all particulars with the 
views of the present generation, it should be borne 
in mind that the senitment regarding vvar existing 
at the present day is simply, or at least chiefly, the 
product of the late European war and its horrors. 
The writer is impressed with the belief that these 
apothegms may be found instructive and helpful at 
this period. They are without doubt encouraging 
and worthy of perusal — and do they not teach Good 
Americanism' 



(61) 



MODAL VERSE 



APOTHEGMS 

At this, the Springtime, the hum of industry, 
stimulated by the season of greatest activity, is 
heard on every hand, and upon the efforts of the 
hour depend the resuUs of the year. 

It is moreover a moment when our minds are 
intent upon affairs of business and the best ener- 
gies of our nature are bent upon matters of a prac- 
tical turn. 

It is indeed a time when the burden of oppor- 
tunity is heaviest, and whoever delays is deemed 
careless of his obligations. 

Hence all are active and busy — too busy, it would 
seem, to submit v/ith patience to any interruption. 

But let us lay aside for a while the thoughts of 
these everyday affairs of life and turning back a 
page in history, read a lesson from the lives of 
those whose memory it is the pride of millions to 
honor. 

That lesson does not arise from the fact that 
they have lived and died, but from the fact that in 
their lives and deaths there has again been estab- 
lished man's capability of making great and noble 
sacrifice; his capability of placing his all upon the 
altar as a free will offering to the principles of 
right and justice; his capability of enduring the 
strain and pressure of a great temptation without 
forgetting that he who ruleth his own spirit is bet- 
ter than he that taketh a city. 

(62) 



APOTHEGMS 



The expectation that man as a whole, left to him- 
self or entrusted with the sceptre of power, would 
turn out anything but a savage or a tyrant, has 
never been generally received, whereas, on the other 
hand, at times at least, it has been received as the 
very depth of wisdom to hold that the only hope 
of the great v/hole was in the ready submission to 
the direction of the few. 

Philosophers and statesmen had not failed to dis- 
cover, hov/ever, that inherent in man's better na- 
ture was the kernel of good and that it sometimes 
would and did germinate and grow, yet the more 
frequent occurrence of the savage coming to the 
front had always prevented this discovery from re- 
ceiving anything more than a timid recognition. 

Step by step, here a little and there a little, now 
retreating, now advancing, did that discovery press 
forv/ard until it was boldly asserted that man could 
be entrusted with dominion over himself. 

In the bloody struggles of the eighteenth century 
that assertion was placed upon the broad foundation 
of natural right, and in the fierce and sanguinary 
conflicts of our own time — now so rapidly passing 
out of remembrance — that foundation was enlarged 
to the full extent of the original declaration, that all 
men are created equal. 

Hence today we stand possessed of that enlarged 
liberty, civil and political, which seems almost im- 
possible of further extension, and the development 

(63) . 



MODAL VERSE 



of which is traced in the history of rights and du- 
ties of citizenship under the enHghtened govern- 
ment under which we Hve. 

Those rights and duties are secured to all by the 
constitution and the laws and such rights beget 
duties and obligations. 

And I know of no better occasion or time more 
appropriate in which to reflect upon these duties and 
obligations than this anniversary, devoted as it is 
to the memory of those who have performed, some 
of them at least, faithfully and well. 

Did I need an apology for this, I should urge 
that Memorial Day means something more than the 
mere ceremonial of placing a handful of flowers 
at the grave of some departed friend; something 
more than the solemn procession and the assembling 
of many people. 

It is the utterance and the expression of appre- 
ciation and gratitude towards those whose lives have 
been given to their country ; to those who have per- 
formed the duties and met the obligations incident 
to the condition of citizenship which they enjoyed: 
those who lived not for themselves alone or for 
the present moment only but for the Nation and the 
generations to come; those whose patriotism was 
something more than a mere pretense — was a sen- 
timent, born of that conviction which gives cour- 
age to do and sufi^er. 

(64) 



APOTHEGMS 



But they are dead, they are gone beyond the 
reach of any effort of ours, and these ceremonies 
are not had in the expectation of benefiting them. 

Idle, indeed, would our efforts be if such were 
our only hope, and vain, indeed, will they also be 
if the living are not aided and encouraged — aided 
to build upon a firmer foundation, and encouraged 
to renewed and more determined efforts. 

Therefore it is well for the living, then, to pause 
and examine the record made by the departed who 
were faithful to their trust. 

It is also well to turn from our ordinary em- 
ployments and contemplate with what sacrifice this 
inheritance which we enjoy was purchased and to 
renew the remembrance of those who have trans- 
mitted it to us. 

The lesson of this occasion is found in the life 
and character of the citizen soldier. He is the cus- 
todian of civilization. 

The right of citizenship begets its duties and its 
oblgations and they are co-extensive with that right, 
so that under a government like ours, where in a 
certain sense, everyone is a sovereign, those duties 
and obligations are very much increased. 

Increased duties and obligations go hand in hand 
with the increase of privilege and the enlargement 
of opportunity. 

Nobility is sometimes defined to be ''A grant of 
privilege," and the nobility an order of men to 
whom privileges are granted. 

(65) 



MODAL VERSE 



In this view then, every citizen is a nobleman and 
should possess, to the fullest extent, the nobility of 
worth. 

In the early ages, when society was in its in- 
fancy and government was unknown, individual 
rights and obligations were few. So, also, in the 
case of serfs and slaves, no privilege, no obligation 
— degradation. 

As society advanced and communities increased 
in size and naimbers, greater burdens were to be 
borne and the privilege of opportunity became the 
patent of nobility. 

And thus it came about in the progress of time 
that those who were under the greatest obligation 
to their community were regarded as the most noble, 
and a class privileged beyond their fellows grew 
into existence and were denominated the nobility 
— always under the greater ol)ligation because en- 
joying the greater privilege. 

Step after step, up from the humblest subject to 
the sovereign himself did this law hold good. Priv- 
ilege and opportunity in the one scale and in the 
other obligation and responsibility, so that from 
the crown, it became to be regarded, emanated all 
privilege and individual freedom became a matter 
of royal grant. 

Then commenced the struggle of man against 
privileged man with its ever changing conditions. 

To the soil of the new world the principle that 
all men are privileged alike and entitled equally to 

(66) 



APOTHEGMS 



the greatest civil and political liberty seemed in- 
digenous and its history is very largely made up 
of the account of the struggles and conflicts in 
which that principle has been engaged in its on- 
Vv^ard march to victory. 

The idea that all men are born equal never 
emanated from the mind of one holding a royal 
patent of nobility, but it was the conception of that 
far seeing wisdom that penetrates to the very depths 
of the human heart and discovers that mankind 
is actuated by something nobler than the influence 
of passion. It comes from that disinterested de- 
votion to principle that is deaf alike to the appeal of 
self interest, the flattery of friends, or the menace 
of an enemy. 

Indeed, it is echoed in every syllable of the record 
that affirms that God breathed into the nostrils of 
man the breath of life and he became a living soul. 

Constitutions and governments are formed to 
meet the requirements of the occasion which calls 
them into existence. 

Hence, the constitution and government under 
which we live bear unmistakable signs of having 
been born of resistance to royal prerogative. 

In their every feature may be read that privilege 
comes not to the people but from them — from the 
many to the few — not from the few to the many. 

Thus, for once, was reversed the old order of 
things, and to the world was promulgated the new 
problem of man's capability of self government. 

(67) 



AIODAL VERSE 



Face to face have they since stood — the old and 
the new : the former venerable and hoary with the 
tradition of years, the latter active with the vigor 
and impatience of youth; the one jealous, dogmatic, 
arrogant and apprehensive; the other trustful, liber- 
al, generous and full of hope. 

Surely and steadily is the sceptre escaping from 
the hands of the few, and the tenets by which they 
have been so long able to hold dominion fast be- 
coming obsolete ; while on the other hand the new 
opinion, grand as the wisdom of Omniscience, is 
it surely and steadily growing and adapting itself 
to the requirements of a practical solution. 

Nowhere in all the economy of Nature has man 
found another so dangerous an enemy as himself, 
and thus, to a superficial view, it v/as indeed a seem- 
ing paradox to give him dominion over himself. 

This contradiction is. however, only seeming and 
is entirely dispelled when wt remember the record 
that man became a "living soul." 

Here then is the germ of hope and in that germ, 
([uickened at the beginning by the breath of God, 
is found the solution of the whole matter. 

Deep, aye profound, was the wisdom that gen- 
erated the conception that to bring forth and de- 
velop the latent God-given powers inherent in the 
human soul was to disarm man as against himself 
and render him incapable of self injury. 

(68) 



APOTHEGMS 



Thus education is discovered to be the bed rock 
upon which may be built the superstructure of priv- 
ilege, and to the extent that the former becomes 
universal so may the latter become general, until it 
embraces the whole human faniily. This is the sun- 
light by which shall be dispelled the clouds of super- 
stition and prejudice that have so long overshadow- 
ed the one being upon the earth created in the 
image of God. 

This is the sunlight by which the kernel of excel- 
lence implanted within that being at the beginning 
shall be warmed into life and that life stimulated 
into a vigorous growth until man, grand, upright, 
generous, shall stand forth a noblema:"! as designed. 

Here then is discovered the primary duty of him 
w^ho is or expects to become a citizen of free gov- 
ernment, and in exact proportion as that duty is 
observed will the continuation of free institutions 
be assured. 

This is an obligation of fundamental importance 
and he who best meets that obligation performs 
the commission of life most nobly. It therefore 
cannot, must not, be neglected. 

Here are the letters patent granted to man by 
Heaven by which he is ordained a nobleman privi- 
leged with the burden of opportunity. 

That burden is taken up at birth and laid aside 
only at the grave. 

(69) 



MODAL VERSE 



The possibility of its conquests no one can meas- 
ure; they are spanned only by the infinity of Deity. 

The exploration of all is not possible to any in- 
dividual or generation — it is only permitted to the 
succession that was established at the foundation 
of time and that shall not fail until the full purpose 
of creation has been accomplished. 

On every hand are the means by which is to be 
carried on the warfare of bringing error and wTong 
into subjection to truth and justice, and it is the 
unmistakable mission of man to apply these micans 
to the accomplishment of that end. 

In his hands have also been placed the implements 
by which that application is to be made and he is 
the one being from all created things whom the 
Creator has chosen to perform this labor. 

Behold the field! Behold the laborers! Who- 
ever is not diligent in the service is a drone and re- 
tards the work. 

The cowards are at the rear and tremble and fal- 
ter; the brave are at the front w^here the din of bat- 
tle is loudest and danger greatest; they have the 
courage of their convictions; they die at their post. 

It is a matter of no moment in what particular 
field of life the labor is performed. 

Merit comes not from the field, but from the la- 
bor ; not from opportunity lost, but from oppor- 
tunity improved. Therefore all the various diver- 

(70) 



APOTHEGMS 



sified employments of life have furnished notable 
examples worthy of study and imitation. 

Some as scholars, some as statesmen, some as di- 
vines, some as soldiers, and they were not the 
drones; they were the workers; they heard the call 
of duty; they felt the burden of opportunity; they 
enlisted for the war and they were in at the victory. 

In the execution of the work committed to man, 
he not infrequently finds himself face to face with 
his fellows, engaged in deadly conflict. Different 
conceptions of duty like the elements of nature, 
wanting in that re-agent v/hich will cause them to 
assimilate, commingle and run smoothly onward, 
clash and contend. 

War is an exposition of nature — the companion 
of the volcano and the earthquake. It is a means 
and instrument of nature — not its end or purpose. 
It is a sign that the work is progressing — an earn- 
est of its fulfillment. It is a lifetime in a moment, 
and to the extent that man is capable of enduring 
its rack and strain is he also capable of achievement 
in the ordinary walks of life. 

Indeed, the battlefield is the horoscope of life, 
the plan of battle, its schemes ; the drill, its routine ; 
the maneuver, its variations ; the charge, its eager- 
ness ; the contest, its earnestness, and the victory its 
triumph. 

The one is the other intensified, and the motives 
that impel to great and noble deeds in the one sphere 

(71) 



MODAL VERSE 



are equally potent to spur on to that end in the 
other. 

Some are moved by love of power; others love 
of achievement ; others, religious zeal ; others, the 
love of country; others, self agrandizement ; others, 
justice and right, and as they are moved by the 
one influence or the other stand marshalled for the 
fray. 

The whole field of science and mechanical dis- 
covery is called upon to furnish the enginry of the 
contest. 

Love and good will to the rear, the demon of 
strife to the front. 

They meet, they contend, they struggle, they 
agonize. Then the defeat, then the triumph, then 
the retreat, then the shout; then the one crushed, 
then the other victorious. 

Death, ghastly and grim on every hand. Oh! 
the death ! Oh ! the carnage ! Here let the shadow 
of night draw the veil of darkness o'er the scene. 

From the condition of civilized man to that of 
the savage is but a step; from the condition of the 
savage to that of civilized man is the journey of 
the ages. 

One false step of the individual overshadows the 
good deeds of a lifetime; one false principle rec- 
ognized by a nation corrodes the whole body ; one 
step backwards from civilization is barbarism. 

(72) 



APOTHEGMS 



There is no stopping place; the outposts of yes- 
terday are in the rear today, and the march is ever 
on. 

Whoso is not in the front rank is tardy, he fails 
of his opportunity, he is a barbarian. 

The victor of every field is exposed to greatest 
danger. Elated, hot and unopposed, he is tempted 
to excess. 

He is a very magazine of explosives, and as he 
bears the strain of triumph like a civilized man or 
a savage, may we discover his rank. 

The vanquished are in his hands ; He has the 
power of their disposal. 

At the foot of the scale of human progress the 
savage may be seen, grim visaged and fierce, exe- 
cuting vengeance upon his enemy, now overcome 
and powerless, he destroys his life with brutish tor- 
ture. Up the scale, this picture is repeated with 
variations — always with vengeance to the van- 
quished ; some put to the sword, other massacred in 
cold blood, others sold into slavery, others held for 
ransom, others assessed an indemnity. 

In point of progress, not of time, this picture 
closes at Richmond. There at the top of the scale 
behold the Blue and the Gray — the one elated, hot, 
unopposed; the other, scattered, powerless, crushed 
— the victor and the vanquished. 

(73) 



MODAL VERSE 



There is no putting to the sword, no massacre, 
no slavery, no ransom, no indemnity. The vanguard 
of civilization is there, victorious, unopposed and 
flush with victory, and it is remembered that the 
Lord has said "Vengeance is mine, I will repay". 

The voice of the spirit of free institutions is 
there and it says, "Malice towards none, good will 
to all". 

Liberty is not anarchy; freedom is not confusion. 
Each presupposes law and order. Either without 
restraint is violence, their excess raises a mob. 

Liberty is a natural right and freedom its correla- 
tive, and they inhere in all alike. 

Under free government, each is at liberty to pur- 
sue that course in life that shall interrupt none 
other, and when the course of life as applied to the 
whole, is so pursued as to produce no interruption, 
there is the full enjoyment of the natural right. 

Government and laws under free institutions only 
apply when interruptions occur ; they never produce 
them. 

Mankind tend to excess, and the old idea was 
to keep them in subjection by force applied — by 
external force — the few over the many. The new 
idea is by force called out — the inherent force, 
everyone over himself. 

Under the old opinion the many were interrupted 
by the few; under the new, the few by the many: 

(74) 



APOTHEGMS 



in the former, man is the lawgiver to mankind; in 
the latter every man is a lav^ unto himself. 

It therefore follows that liberty is discipline, and 
the free man is the one most in subjection. 

The victors are tempted to excess and under the 
old regime victory was often more disastrous than 
defeat; the power of the army became the enemy of 
the state, the strain of victory was dissipated in 
vengeance and vengeance is never sated; it is ever 
rushing for more. 

Thus the victor, undisciplined and without self 
restraint, first destroys his enemy, then himself, and 
triumph culminates in anarchy. 

A picture: A nation of freemen, the arts of 
peace most cherished and encouraged, all conditions 
and classes bound to them by the association of 
years; peace, plenty, prosperity and happiness ev- 
erywhere; the ties and restraints of home and 
friendship observed and respected ; good order, quiet 
and love on every hand. An enemy appears. 

War with all its privations, hardship and dan- 
ger, is come. The arts and habiliments of peace 
are laid aside, friends, kindred and all, left in the 
rear. 

The host m.arshals at the front — an army of citi- 
zens, the children of free institutions, the pupils of 
the common schools, the boys in blue. 

They carry the flag of civilization, the Stars and 
Stripes, the banner of the new opinion, and by their 

(75) 



MODAL VERSE 



acts is to be demonstrated its endurance. In them 
is the hope of the future. 

With a firm and steady step, on, on, through re- 
pulse, defeat, success, victory — always steady, the 
starry flag in the front, the emblem of nobility, the 
shout goes around the world — huzzas for the Blue, 
yet it is steady, steady; the army of freemen is not 
disturbed, it yields to no temptation, it commits no 
excess, it respects its enemy, it asks no vengeance. 

That army, every one a free man, every one a 
citizen, every one a nobleman, every one a ruler over 
his own spirit — its triumph ends in glory. 

Life implies motion and it creates waste ; hence 
waste is the consequence of life and the intensity 
of the latter may be estimated by the amount of 
the former. 

The waste of life in this sense is not to be de- 
plored ; it is the converse of rust. 

Rust is not a natural condition; it in man is op- 
portunity squandered. 

Waste is the normal condition; it is an evidence 
of life; it is the chafing of the burden. 

A nation considered as a unit, the individuals 
become its respective members. The wear and waste 
of the members show the life and vigor of the 
nation. 



(76) 



APOTHEGMS 



An army in time of war are the members exposed, 
the hands, the feet, the head, the shoulders. Their 
waste show^s the strain and pressure of the field. 

As they are chafed, blistered, bruised, without 
wavering, so may be judged of their discipline and 
endurance. As the body so the members, and those 
v. ho endure to be entirely wasted should be most 
honored. 



07) 



fart ^ioo 



INTRODUCTION 

To the Reader: The youngest of my parents' 
family was a son. In the year 1897 he was a teach- 
er in some institution of learning at Andover, Mass. 
Early in the spring of that year he and his wife in- 
vited all of his brothers and sisters (the family con- 
sisted of ten children — three sisters and seven broth- 
ers) to visit them in the following August and thus 
hold a reunion. We had not been all together prob- 
ably in near forty years — indeed never but once — 
the elder children having gone out for themselves 
before the youngest was born. So our good mother 
never saw her entire brood together as a unit ex- 
cept once, when those who were away returned for 
a short visit. I distinctly recall that on the occa- 
sion in question, she assembled us all in the living 
room of the old New England home and had us 
stand up in a row — side by side — in the order of 
our ages, beginning with the eldest, a sister. My 
place was number three in the line. 

The invitations noticed suggested that each 
brother and sister prepare some kind of writing ex- 
pressive of sentiments suitable to the occasion, to 
be read at the meeting. I had written some verse 
before then, so a poem was suggested as my con- 
tribution. 

The eldest sister and the eldest of the family was 
then living at Salem, Oregon. She was quite aged 
and rather feeble. I was living at Bismarck, Da- 

(81) 



kota Territory, so naturally I was expected to ar- 
range for her attendance at the meeting and would 
so have done but for the fact that near the first of 
May she was stricken with apoplexy and she died 
on the 9th. She had spent her mature years in the 
South — even the years of the war between the 
states — in Alabama, Florida and Texas. She was 
widowed at this time, having lost her husband in the 
latter state. I had visited her two or three times at 
Salem and was, I believe, the last of any of her 
brothers or sisters so to do. Indeed, I do not think 
that any of them, excepting myself, had at any time 
visited her after her removal to Oregon. Her death 
was the first to occur, of the group of children, and 
placed me, in view of the circumstances, in such a 
sad and peculiar predicament that I did not feel able 
to face it, and so did not attend the reunion, but 
prepared the verse that follows and had about thirty 
copies printed and bound in book form, and deckle- 
edged. The greater size was from left to right 
and its lesser from top to bottom. One stanza only 
was printed on a page. The form was the same as 
this with the foregoing exceptions. It is reproduced 
here as near as may be and thus shown, except the 
binding and the writer's portrait, which therein ap- 
peared at the end of the volume. The verse other 
than "The Old Gate" has since been added. It is 
new. 

It should properly enough be shown that the eld- 
est sister during much of her life had been engaged 
in teaching — especially of music. The eldest broth- 
er also in teaching, largely of music, and later a 
merchant in Alabama. Myself a lawyer in Ver- 
mont and in Dakota Territorv and North Dakota. 



(82) 



The next brother younger, a minister of the Epis- 
copal Church in Missouri. The next sister, a teach- 
er in Ohio until her marriage in that state. The 
next, a brother, a physician in Vermont. The next, 
a sister and a teacher until her marriage in Ver- 
mont. The next, a brother and a physician in New 
York State. The next, a brother and a clerk in the 
employ of the Central Vermont Railway in Ver- 
mont, and the next and the youngest in the family, 
a teacher and now a college professor at New 
Brunswick, New Jersey. 



(83) 



THE OLD GATE 

A RETROSPECT 
IN RHYME 



BY 

GEO. W. NEWTON 



"An old house is like an old violin, the music of 
the past is wrought into it." 

—Vermont Chronicle, Dec. 3rd, 1880. 



BISMARCK: 
1897 



DEDICATION 

To my Brothers and Sisters, this Poem entitled "The 
Old Gate," is affectionately inscribed in memory of those 
early years when, while together pursuing the arduous 
labors that fell to our lot in youth, we were encouraged 
hopefully to look forward to more congenial fields of use- 
fulness by her, the summation of whose full character 
can only be expressed by the beautiful words, Christian 
Mother. 



THE OLD GATE 
I 

PART the veiling clouds that hover 

O'er remembrance of the past, 

And life's retrospect discover 

On the disc of memory cast, 
All in mezzotint repeated 
In one panoramic view — 
Things accomplished or defeated, 
To the mind's eye, full and true. 

II 

Each short step o'erlaps, returning, 

Many years of time gone by, 

In the acted scenes recurring 

From the haunts of memory — 

Scenes that fill the ample measure 
Of the burdens borne or left — 
Hopes of usefulness or pleasure, 
Of fulfillment still bereft. 

Ill 

From the fields where we have striven 

In the sterner walks of life, 

Earnest as a sailor driven 

To his cutlass in the strife, 

Turned now back with frosted forehead 
To the well remembered fane, 
Where, in childhood, once we tarried, 
Peering out upon life's plain. 

(89) 



MODAL VERSE 



IV 

Mem'ry draws the lines less sharply 
Than the living acts displayed — 
Tints for colors — thus 'tis haply 
Acute angles pale and fade. 

Beautified by life's cosmetic, 
Shade by time thrown o'er the scene, 
Harshest sights grow e'en pathetic 
In the dimness of their gleam. 



From the somber heights of manhood, 
Turning thence to its bright morn, 
To the dear old home of childhood, 
To the house where we were born. 

There, the gate through which we enter 

Is to live old days anew — 

Thoughts upon their scenes concenter. 

And again they pass in view. 

VI 

Back upon its hinges turning, 
When again the latch is raised. 
We, their voices well discerning. 
Stop and listen — grow amazed. 

Listen and — what strange condition ! 

Voices rendered harsh by time 

Speak a welcome recognition. 

In the hinges' grating chime. 



(90) 



THE OLD GATE 



VII 

Portal, to what mansions airy, 

Dear old gate before the manse! 

Portal, where all feet must tarry 

Ere they measure life's expanse! 

Portal, through which who has wandered 
Ne'er again may find thee more ! 
Portal, at what time we pondered 
Was but waiting on the shore! 

VIII 

Swiftly as the senses muster 

From the world's loud battle din. 

Round thee, in great numbers cluster 

Relics of what things have been, 

Till our hearts seem full to bursting. 
And our eyes suffuse in tears. 
Quite forbidden, from their thirsting 
Fountains, dried up in the years. 

IX 

See we there ourselves, in wonder. 
Peering through the fastened gate. 
That, (as prison walls may sunder 
Erring man from wrathful hate). 

Shields us — out upon the roadway. 

Leading forth on either hand. 

Dimly dreaming thence life someway, 

Open must, in future, stand. 



(91) 



MODAL VERSE 



X 

Later to its bars fast clinging, 
Pleasure's moment all supreme, 
In the giddy joy of swinging 
Past and Future there between — 

Heart in quickened pulses forming 
Life's young blood for any fate — 
Brain o'er full of visions swarming, 
Back and forth as turned the gate. 

XI 

Oh! how often in the gloaming, 

Or the fulness of the night, 

O'er fatigued long years in roaming. 

Thou hast stood before our sight! 
And ambition's great emprises 
Seemed to pale, or fade entire. 
To the least that life comprises 
As portrayed to Youth's desire. 

XII 

With thee oft we watched the morning 

Brighten into perfect day, 

Or the shadows fall in forming, 

Far behind us in the way; 

And the future seemed a golden 
Romance, to our novice-mind, 
Without cloud or fault beholden 
That to trouble we should find. 



(92) 



THE OLD GATE 



XIII 

And into our hearts swift entered 
Such bright glow and depth of cheer 
That when night in shadows gathered, 
Fear of evil came not near, 

For 'tis youth's undoubted treasure, 
To discard all thoughts of ills 
From the full-to-bursting measure 
That the passing moment fills. 

XIV 

Live again the hopes just hinted 
Unto us when there elate, 
Waiting, thought ran on unstinted. 
Past the time for youth to wait — 

Past the confines of the homestead 
To imagined fields of strife — 
Issues great to be contested 
In the after- work of life — 

XV 

Castles for rude hands to sunder, 
Theirs were walls of brittle glass — 
That each stay too soon, from under. 
In life's flood, for aye, should pass. 
Clearly in all parts out-standing 
Bold against the future's sky. 
Pictured in the sure expanding 
Of the waiting by-and-by. 



(93) 



MODAL VERSE 



XVI 

Entrance narrow, in refusal, 

'Gainst each worldly evil's call, 

Than watch-guarded casement mural, 

By the love impaling all — 

Way as broad, to him, as ocean, 
In whose heart pure virtue lives, 
Kept by self-imposed devotion 
That parental fondness gives. 

XVII 

Faithful ever to the mission 
Thou wert placed there to fulfill, 
Whoso through thee sought admission 
Found thee living sponsor still. 

For thy voice's ready warning 
Quickly sounded the alarm, 
As a sentry true informing 
At the first approach of harm. 

XVIII 

Through thee from without came strangers. 

Suing in affection's name; 

Armed and girded for life's dangers, 

Errant-knights of Cupid came — 

And the names thereafter spoken 
Softly as in tender care. 
Tell of heart-ties severed, broken. 
In the homestead's circle there. 



(94) 



THE OLD GATE 



XIX 

Doorway at whose threshold severed 

Are the dearest ties of earth. 

Home-love to which what's endeavored 

Afterwards, is nothing worth! 

In thy presence was the parting 
Spoken at that far-off day, 
As for self, from home outstarting, 
Youthful footsteps turned away. 

XX 

■ Through the shrouding mist and shadow 
Of all things whate'er wx've known, 
Seen in brightness of a halo. 
Is one form — her form — alone — 

And we hear her last words clearest, 
As we sadly turned away, 
''Seek the One that's ever nearest, 
Never, child, forget to pray/' 

XXI 

Ever present, true or seeming. 

Guarding Gen'i of the way. 

To the waking sense or dreaming, 

Wander wheresoe'er we may, 

Are those words thus fitly spoken^ — 
Ripest fruitage of their kind, 
Words of love that vrell betoken 
Golden pictures of the mind. 



(95) 



MODAL VERSE 



XXII 

And those words shall live forever, 
And her look as they were said; 
From remembrance naught can sever, 
Till we're numbered with the dead — 
At the gate there still she's standing, 
And those spoken words as clear — 
Tone and look and all commanding — 
As that morning, now we hear. 

XXIII 

Witness thou the sad removal 
Of her cold and shrouded form — 
Mother Dear, in whose reproval 
Glowed the love that's ever warm, 

Followed thence in long procession, 
Silent in a funeral train, 
Summoned to the high fruition 
That the righteous should attain. 

XXIV 

To thy urn in dust returning, 
Ashes of the things we willed. 
Wrought into their dross in fining, 
Such the hopes our fancy filled — 
Burnt as with a fitful fever, 
Near, this pyre which life we call, 
Waiting Death's resistless cleaver, 
Certain soon to come to all. 



(96) 



THE OLD GATE 



XXV 

Waiting on in expectation, 

The good hopes that fail us here, 

Garnered there to delectation, 

To His servants will appear — 

Waiting with expectant pleasure. 
Patiently v\-hen, soon or late, 
Having borne time's strickled measure, 
We shall meet her at The Gate. 



PHANTOM FEARS 

Our fears are chiefly phantoms bold. 
Concentered on some thoughts untold, 
But once pursued to source exact. 
They vanish in mere mist of fact: — 
So fears are vain — nor leaders true : — 
The safe course is them to eschew. 



(97) 



MODAL VERSE 



Lines zuritten in memory of my eldest sister, Mrs. 
C. A. Stondenmeyer, deceased May, 1897, ^^ 
Salem, Oregon, and there buried. 



Thy new form'd grave was there and dark and cold, 
When thence my footsteps sadly I did guide, 
Thy last long home to visit and behold, 
And deep in meditation stand beside — 
Cheerless and dumb, while visions sad and strange, 
Too soon to shadows pal'd by time thence flown, 
In lapse of the long years that spann'd the range 
'Twixt youth's young days and days since aged 

grown — 
Thy presence there within the lowly tomb, 
And absence from the active life around, 
Awoke, in thought, sad pictures of the gloom 
In which the time we live may soon abound : 
And there with free and funereal tears. 
Bright, clear and livid scenes and their events 
Of early days and times of youth's fond years. 
In memory slumb'ring, awoke and thence 
Before me stood the old familiar home — 
Where all once gathered — nor \\2iS one there not. 
The dearest mother there, but not alone — 
Her many children — such a gleeful lot — 
Were there, free, gay, happy and welcome, all, 
And of which thou were indeed the eldest 
And the leader truly, and so thoughtful — 
Commanding by mild words of mere request. 
Thy censure, gentle in reproof, with urge 

(98) 



LINES TO MRS. STOUDENMEYER 



Of love and friendship, and thy apt commend 

A boon — e'en wine and manna, dry and large; 

Did discord seem, or ever strife impend, 

Thy word alone, if heard, would soon amend; 

Thy slender form and figure, to the fill, 

Thine own were truly — thine unto the end; 

Nor word nor movement — imitation ill — 

Both thought and poise were thine, and thine alone. 

The evenings' study and the busy days, 

School time and play time and the teacher friend, 

The minister, a caller, and his ways. 

Kind neighbors and the doctor understand — 

Playmates and schoolmates and the higher class — 

The music, recitations and essays, 

Were there assembl'd and each and all en masse 

In memory living and in thought's displays — 

As all had been long years before and were — 

Though some 'twas known, as dearest mother, had 

The great divide pass'd o'er and were not there. 

And thus I stood reflectively and sad — 

But mem'ry clings not to dark views alone. 

But speedy seizes some awakened ray. 

And to its source pursues it, to atone 

For each omission and so long delay : 

So thus my vision chang'd, to fair and bright. 

And other scenes recall'd, full form'd and clear, 

At the old home and then there came in sight 

Things long o'erlooked, but welcome and so dear. 

Much frolicking and rollicking and glee 
Abounding, and youthful trick and playing — 

(99) 



MODAL VERSE 



And sport and joy — quipping and repartee — 
Each and all in clear remembrance staying — 
The ready word and joke and apt reply — 
Again from youth and childhood, so long gone, 
With quicken'd footsteps in my thoughts went by 
In multitudes, much like a living throng. 
What lime so standing fails me now to state. 
All visions forming need not here be told. 
But days appear'd both sad and desolate, 
Some sixty years gone by, truly to hold — 
When on occasion thou didst frank allege, 
A guest from the fair Southland to appear — 
To whom, dear Sister, thou by solemn pledge 
And plight, thy heart had given, free and clear. 
What speedy preparations then were sought 
Need not be said, but soon a gentleman 
Was duly welcom'd, truly as he ought. 
Anon the minister came thence, and when 
The nuptial vows of pledge and faith were said 
The smiles and tears and greetings were not few, 
Till time demanded all should move ahead. 
So bidding bride and groom a swift adieu. 
Their lives together some way to arrange. 
Fond wife and husband left New England's hills 
For the fair Southland home, both new and strange. 
And hence now end the scenes my vision fills. 
The groom, with love and joy and worthy pride. 
Departed with his happy new-made bride. 
Still the old home remains 'gainst time and tide, 
But none is there with whom my thoughts abide. 



(100) 



DEDICATION 



TO 
ALL AND EACH OF THE 
LEGIONAIRES OF AMERICA AND 
THEIR DECEASED BRETHREN, AND 
THEIR RELATIVES AND FRIENDS AND ALL 
OTHERS AIDING THEM, AND IN KINDLY REMEM- 
BRANCE OF THEIR PATRIOTIC SERVICES AND 
BRILLIANT ACHIEVEMENTS AND HEROIC 
SACRIFICES IN RESISTING AUTOCRACY 
AND IN DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY 
AND CIVILIZATION DURING THE 
LATE WORLD WAR OF EUROPE 
THIS BIT OF VERSE IS MOST 
SINCERELY AND GRATE- 
FULLY INSCRIBED. 



MODAL VERSE 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 

Awake, O kindly Muse ! Acclaim, 

The struggles that raised France to fame ! 

In time exact, and verse relate 

Her valor that withstood ill fate. 

Her wage of battles, fierce and strong. 

That turned her foes from further wrong, 

Is here depicted in these lines. 

With scores complete and goodly rhymes. 

The wounds France bears attest the blows 
Delivered by her Teuton foes ; 
Both broad and deep, that demonstrate 
The wantonness of jealous hate: — 
A closer view clear scars reveal 
Of older wounds, but scarce conceal 
What France has suffered through the years. 
With heart of steel, in hopes and fears. 
Her spirit firm, her soul awake, 
That never could, nor would forsake. 
The field of glory, or of fame. 
If foes were there and sought the game. 
Near all the years, long ages past. 
She's stood for self and won at last. 
Hereby to scan her struggles o'er. 

We retrograde, or less or more, — 
Review the record as 'tis shown. 
For France stands now by self alone. 

Once she v/as realm of reigning kings. 
And courtiers too in cliques and "rings," 

(102) 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 

(The three last names are used express 

For vicious courts that wrought excess.) 

Rank tyranny in ev'ry part, 

That left to few or hope or heart. 

Till Frenchmen rose in their clear right 

And drove such rulers from their sight : — 

The conflict raged — orgy of ire, 

Till kingship knew but one desire, 

To-wit : to flee away and hide, 

In safer place, and there abide. 

'Mongst other means to tyrants giv'n, 
The Bastille stood — sad cry to Heav'n, 
Till Frenchmen in their zeal and might, 
Erased such menace out of sight. 
Now that one terror — years on years — 
Within its walls held vales of tears : — 
But when so razed, never, again 
Could it deter, or man or men. 

France fought, resisted, lost and won. 
Till kingly rule was quite undone. 
Her purpose was thus to attain 
The freedom that all men may claim : — 
So now much liberty is there. 
And life is free — none need despair. 
Right of self-rule is the regime. 
With naught of kingship in the scheme. 

Thus France has lived through ups and downs, 
Long ages past — empires and crowns — 
But now she feels the weight and care. 
Of self-control that all may share. 



(103) 



MODAL VERSE 



Thus liberty serves as a school, 
With self-restraint its guiding rule. 
And thus she's lived some fifty years. 
And faced all foes, 'tween hopes and fears. 

(This propaganda — not in rhyme — 
That kings, though men, are yet divine. 
All Europe held in dogma strong; 
More : Reigning kings can do no wrong. ) 

But now the French are such indeed, 
They face and meet their ev'ry need : — 
Of many factions, small and great. 
But all for France, at any rate. 
She gathers friends — arouses foes. 
But keeps right on despite all woes. 
(Now war when waged for other use 
Than self-defense is war's abuse. ) 

The year of Grace, nineteen fourteen. 
Saw the world war break out between 
The French and Teutons, at its start. 
And last till nearly all took part. 
Soon England sought a hand with France, 
Finessed and played 'gainst all mischance; 
And Belgium — all of one mind 
As allied friends — met war in kind; 
The martial hosts of Italy 
Saw Teutons efforts and defy : — 
And up they rose and joined the fight 
To aid their neighbors as they might : — 
(They'd suffered much in years gone by 
And knew war means ill destiny.) 

(104) 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 



And later Uncle Sam awoke, 

And in the way his gunners spoke, 

The Teutons know they are undone, 

Turn back at once and homeward run. 

So all united in the war, 

And others too, both near and far. 

Until their foes, in ways of yore, 

Just had to quit — and peace restore : — 

Now Kaiser Bill of evil mind. 
Forced war on France of other kind; 
Ambition was his chief est urge, 
And cruel pride and Junker splurge. 
A kindly prince should surely heed 
That war as duty is no mead 
To sweeten life, when there is need 
Of fighting men, or men to lead: — 
But Kaiser Bill did not this heed — 
War's not the end of life men lead — 
Nor is ambition's safest tread. 
To meet and number neighbor's dead : — 
The prince that can but won't desist 
From rushing into w^ar, and fierce. 
Is not a man that's true, indeed. 
But more a wolf that lives by greed. 

Now Kaiser Bill no army led. 
As danger lurks 'mongst soldier dead — 
And danger was not his to face. 
For death in war stalks ev'ry place : — 
So Bill deputed other men 
To lead his armies forth, and when 
The stress of war grew fierce indeed, 

(105) 



MODAL VERSE 



He much surmised he'd not succeed. 
And Junker pride had met its day: — 
So Bill, the slacker, kept away. 

Now a brave prince could not resist, 
The calls of duty that persist. 
When stress of war or other need, 
Demands a leader to succeed : — 
Does king or kaiser ever slack, 
'Tis valor chiefly he does lack- 
He's just a dotard in high place. 
That soon or late ends in disgrace. 
Whereas does he the crisis meet. 
And curb the pressure of his feet. 
His people all, in ev'ry way, 
Will do their best his hands to stay, 
And should he then meet with defeat, 
He'd still be held a hero great — 
Or death! He'd ever after stand 
Amongst the martyrs of the land : — 

At start, the Teutons thought they'd win, 
If soon, with rush, they'd war begin. 
They reasoned thus — All France's asleep, 
And follows Folly's leadership. 
But what an error — what mistake! 
Mere self-delusion — and all fake! 
For France was fearing much, a raid. 
And preparation full had made. 
The will of France was firm and strong, 
And purpose true to meet such wrong: — 
For war unjust is but abuse 
Of public force in wrongful use. 

(106) 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 

France said no word, but met the foe, 
And held the rush a day or so. 
Five French divisions stood before 
Sixteen — a host — three fold and o'er; — 
F'rom that brave stroke, we truly learn. 
The Teutons lost the field of Marne. 
This episode brought much surprise, 
No hope was left save to revise 
The plan of strategy complete, 
For now they'd met the first defeat. 
Thus their great scheme went to its fall. 
Before the victors, past recall. 
All hail, we say, brave men of France! 
For deeds like these surpass romance! 

Now Kaiser Bill, the Junker guide. 
Sought e'en to rule the French beside. 
The Teuton host rushed to the front, 
Believing it an easy stunt 
To rape possession of the land. 
And hold the French secure in hand. 

Now kingly trust all right offends, 
When war's invoked for such vile ends. 
Thus Junker hopes w^ent to their fall — 
Their throne — their crown — Kaiser and all. 
For soon they met in war's array. 
An allied force across their way. 
That stood the shock and held the field. 
Till Teuton pride was forced to yield. 
The Junkers deemed themselves sublime 
Up to this date — and near divine — 
And supermen — high place to fill, 

(107) 



MODAL VERSE 



And lead the van, in ways to kill, 
And terrify in stress of war. 
But now they were like fading star, 
Much in eclipse and out of place, 
Brave men to meet and face to face. 
Here this great people slipped a cog, 
And missed their bearings in the fog: — 
Their craft, unmastered, struck a reef 
And foundered outright, past belief. 
So here we leave them in such plight 
Till ship of state is brought to right, 
And love of war is cast aside. 
And peace supplants old Junker pride. 

(Some details here we must omit, 
But who can ever them forget?) 
The allied friends fought field on field. 
And died by millions — not to yield; 
Nor did they slacken at defeat. 
But struck the foe at ev'ry meet: — 
At Marne, Verdun, Argonne, Cambrai, 
And others more — day after day. 

And Flanders Fields, the places where 
Fierce war was raging, ''Over there," 
And "Huns," so called, with pride elate. 
In numbers were of crushing weight. 

Great Flanders Fields! 'Tis thus we name 
The western line of war's domain, 
Where armies fought at field on field, 
Till one or other had to yield. 

(108) 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 

Oh Flanders Fields! Where late came we, 
In khaki clad, armed cap-a-pie, 
To save for freedom, less or more, 
And God's rich gift, world peace, restore. 

Fair Flanders Fields! where flow^ers bloom, 
And graves are marked in rows, and gloom, 
Distinctive symbols of the strife 
Where armies met and war was rife. 

Sad Flanders Fields ! where armies stood. 
In full array for strife and blood, 
The bold invaders in such state, 
Impelled to war because of hate. 

Great Flanders Fields! where war was rife, 
And carnage seemed alone, ''the life," 
With fighting men on either hand. 
And all between ran "No man's land". 

Oh Flanders Fields ! what carnage wrought, 
On either side, when armies fought. 
O'er "No man's land". We grieve to tell 
Of doughboys lost, when there they fell. 

Oh Flanders Fields ! the mystic point 
Of time, the zero hour, in front — 
Clear duty called for speed and haste. 
That "Huns" might sense war's bitter taste. 

Oh Flanders Fields! what pain to know 
That armies dwelt grass roots below : — 
Live men entombed, and there to stop 
Till orders wxre, "Over the top". 



(109) 



MODAL VERSE 



Grave Flanders Fields! orders obe3^ed : — 
No doughboy slacked or seemed afraid : — 
Each hit the foe whene'er he could, 
Though wounds were met and death ensued. 

Great Flanders Fields ! It was some feat 
To rush the terrain, foes to meet, 
And hunt them out from hiding place 
And smother scores in war's embrace. 

Great Flanders Fields! where signs reveal 
That war its dead may not conceal, 
For true, each cross of hope invites 
Remembrance of the man that fights. 

In Flanders Fields, 'tis largely true. 
The Allies sought the Huns, and knew 
They'd skulk and hide and comrade call. 
And yield their weapons, selves and all. 

Oh Flanders Fields ! What glories shine, 
When we recite in prose or rhyme. 
The valor, courage, blood bright red. 
Of heroes found amongst the dead. 

Fair Flanders Fields ! Famed part of France, 
Where glory dwells, and some romance : — 
And graves in rows grimly aver 
Much blood was shed of men that were. 

In Flanders Fields, midst strife and rage. 
How bitter death, that claims such wage :- 
Where booming guns, the foeman feeds. 
Speak in no tongue that valor heeds. 

(110) 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 

Oh Flanders Fields ! Who can withhold 
High admiration when he's told 
Of deeds like these, so rare and brave, 
Fierce war to end — a world to save. 

On Flanders Fields, what vim and zest, 
Were given thee at war's behest! 
Who met the foe and turned the rush, 
Without a stain or e'en a blush. 

On Flanders Fields, thus went the war, 
Day after day, both near and far : — 
Until the Huns for peace besought. 
And gave up all for which they'd fought. 

Oh Flanders Fields ! We've seen and read 
Heroic deeds of doughboys dead; — 
The numbers that in battle fell. 
With whom we trust now all is well. 

Now he that met war's sacrifice. 
Is a true martyr to world peace — 
So may his soul in Heaven rest, 
And share its glories with the blest. 

Now then the Kaiser's eldest son 

Was heir-apparent to his crown : — 

A Hun of Huns — a vain, proud lad. 

With head much turned as one near-mad — 

He'd often said he'd force a fight 

(As war was his one great delight) 

Upon the world, when he became 

The leader of the Teutons' game : — 

That is, provided Sire did not, 

(111) 



MODAL VERSE 



Within his time, first spring the plot; 
For Bill and son and others, chiefs. 
Became inflated with beliefs : — 
The world was at their easy reach 
Whenever they'd a war beseech: — 

But Kaiser Bill, both old and grim — 
Found an excuse war to begin, 
A world-wide war — on mere pretense — 
To crow^n his reign with eminence. 
So Bill went to it with his might. 
With France and Allies all to fight : — 
And placed his son in high command 
Of armies raised in Fatherland. 
His purpose was to teach the boy 
To handle armies as a toy — 
That their one flag might be unfurled 
Above the French — perhaps the world. 
Such was the aim, and its intent, 
Before the Prince, as thence he went 
To man the lines, from North to South, 
And show the Huns their prince's worth :- 

So the Crown Prince, at Bill's behest. 
Led armies out to make the test, 
And win great battles from the foe, 
And awe the world with princely show. 
But now anon he met a snag. 
And fortune always seemed to lag; 
So the vain Prince his armies fed 
Unto the guns. Much gore was shed. 
Like as for instance, at Verdun, 
When war its carnage had begun ; — 

(112) 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 

So on it went, day after day, 

Two years and more : The Allies met 

Each fierce assault, with purpose set 

To hold the Huns from breaking through. 

In any way, or old or new. 

The allies met the Teuton mass 
In these plain words : "They shall not pass\ 
'Twas posted here and thereabout 
Along the lines, and 'twas no doubt 
The one brave thought that held the field 
At ev'ry rush, such vow, a shield. 
The war went on, fight after fight, 
In open day — again at night: — 
The Kaiser's pet was thus to show 
The Huns their prince's brightest glow : — 

His armies were hand-picked for war, 
From all the Junkers near and far: — 
They fought most bravely to no end. 
As heroes were there to defend, 
And held the terrain 'gainst the mass : — 
The H^uns lost out — They could not pass. 
So Bill's pet son did not succeed, 
Nor reach at all his greatest need. 
His leadership went to the wall, 
With thousands dead, for naught at all. 
So truly, friends, we say right now, 
He earned no fame — much less his "chow", 
And left the Fatherland to fate. 
As hereinafter we relate : — 
So now this theme — the vain Crown Prince — 
We drop for cause — his impotence. 

(113) 



MODAL VERSE 



Now all this time France suffered most, 
Till her proud foes the war had lost : — 
When ruin stood them stark before, 
They sued for peace — of war no more. 
And for such end a cartel call, 
Throw up the sponge, the war, and all, 
And signed a pact to cease the strife. 
That forty years had filled their life. 

So Kaiser Bill did not succeed 
In his ambitious game of greed — 
Became perturbed and quit his right, 
Threw off his crown and took to flight. 
Thus, hope of kingship, pride of place. 
Went to the dogs in Billy's case. 
Soon as vain pride left Kaiser Bill 
New terrors great his thoughts o'erfill, 
For there he was, just a mere man, 
Of family, and soon all ran, 
And refuge sought with neighbor friends: 
And here is where Bill's glory ends. 

Now truly Bill was much a fraud. 

In claiming self a quasi-god ; 

For who e'er knew an upright man 

To slaughter millions in the span 

Of one short life, to flaunt his grace. 

And crowd the tomb, to save his face? 

Kaiser's a name, assumed, we sense, 

From Rome's great Caesar — mere pretense. 

That Bill might claim — as well might we — 

A place in Rome's famed pedigree. 

Caesar of Rome, Kaiser and Tzar, 



(114) 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 

A row of mighties once they were : 
Save one, great Caesar, ne'er a king, 
Because of Brutus and his ring. 
Kaiser, a name, not Latin is — 
Much less of substance than of fizz. 
And froth of pride — in Billy's case, 
The chief of felons, and their ''Ace". 
Thus for a time he held his "fling", 
But now's not else save an ex-king. 

Proud Bill abjured all sense of right, 
And found himself in this ill plight — 
Each shadow seemed a haunting w'olf, 
For Bill's obsession was himself. 

Be square's the motto in high place, 
Whatever effort won the race. 
Play safe — disaster oft impends 
O'er him who seeks, with greedy hands, 
For more — for soon Nemesis wakes. 
And for each wTong atonement takes. 

Play fair — for fortune ne'er forgets 
That ''tricks" are chiefly losing bets. 
Be just — for Justice oft allays 
What things went wrong in other ways. 

Be brave — for valor is the shield 
That turns the thrusts on honor's field. 
Be true — keep the straight way along, 
Step after step and do no wrong. 
These admonitions clearly teach, 
The course to follow's within reach. 



(115) 



MODAL VERSE 



Such thoughts as one we emphasize, 
As thus they may no one surprise. 

Be square, play safe, be fair, be just, 
Be brave, be true, be wise we must — 
True guides are they from Ethic's code, 
So them regard, and keep the road. 

Now WiUiam First, wise leader old. 
Was more a King that Bill fourfold; 
For Bill lost both the place and name 
That William First had raised to fame. 
So thus they each high place did fill — 
William went up — Bill, down the hill. 

Attila — Hun — was Bill's pole star, 
And hence his armies, ''Huns" in war. 
Bill's great ambition was to gain 
New lands by conquest, and retain. 
He failed in both and lost his crown. 
And now's Ex-Kaiser less renown. 
Grandsire, as ruler, held the crown. 
Grandson — successor — pulled it down. 
The latter's war aim was for pelf, 
In disregard of aught but self. 
Now William First, the old man wise, 
Most often did fair peace advise : — 
The elder man, discretion knew — 
The younger nursed Ambition's view. 
So this conclusion all must own : 
Be wise — leave well enough alone. 

Now Kaiser Bill, proud Overlord, 
Deemed more than human — much a god, 

(116) 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 

All puffed with pride, inflated, big, 
Concluded 'twas high time to ''dig" : — 
His thoughts ran thus, we may surmise: — 
"I see no ground for compromise. 
The w^orld's gone mad ! The things I fear 
Are all about and red and near." 
Then spoke right out: "A Kaiser dead 
Is but The late,' not 'Ex' ", he said— 
"What ruler slacks and hides the while. 
May soon return and reign in style." 

'Twas Goldsmith in long years now o'er, 
Penned some fair thoughts of old-time war; 
Of him who fights and flees and lives, 
Whate'er his pedigree, that is : — 
The man that fights and runs away 
May live to fight some other day. 
'Twas epigrammatic and new, 
(Though here misquoted*) bright and true. 

Did Kaiser Bill recall such thought? 
Or had he its main point forgot? 
That it did not include his need 
Is true. He never fought! Indeed, 
Safe kept away — far at the rear — 
Because of danger, and of fear. 

*This thought is found in Oliver Goldsmith's, "The Art 
of Poetry on a New Plan," Vol. II, page 147, and reads 
thus : 

He who fights and runs away 
May live to fight another day. 
But he who is in battle slain 
Can never rise and fight again. 
It was not intended to be quoted literally, but the 
thought only. 

(117) 



MODAL VERSE 



That Bill may see his error plain. 
And seeing, hide and so remain, 
The thought we now epitomize, 
And hold it plain before all eyes, 
And ever hope and even pray 
The end will prove just as we say, 
"The king that slacks and hides away, 
Shall ne'er return at any day," 
"He's lost all prestige from the name 
Of the high place thus brought to shame. 
So let Bill live as he may wish, 
He's out of caste, like spoiling fish. 

Now Bill, Ex-Kaiser, 'tween two days. 
Took to the road — shunned all delays, 
And speeded forth to beat Old Nick, 
And save by hook or crook his neck. 
And Bill, Ex-Kaiser, won the race. 
And now's alive, but in disgrace. 
And sawing wood, hard common work. 
But safer far than he forsook. 
Now all the world and all mankind 
Just hoped he'd meet disaster blind. 

This incident, both strange and true. 
Connotes the scheme that Billy drew — 
Mad Harry Thaw's historic flight 
From Matteawan in broad daylight. 
So Bill essayed, by equal pace, 
To save himself, if not his face: 
And forth he sped, for safer zone. 
Though not as Thaw, by self alone. 

(118) 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 

He took his family and all, 
His son and heir, foes to forestall, 
And hit the road, concealed by night, 
And fled for safety — out of sight. 

Great Goldsmith's verse gave Bill his clue, 
And Thaw's exploit near proved it true; — 
So Bill by reason of the twain, 
Made precept practice to his gain : 
He'd never fought — precept too big; 
His son had fought — practice — then dig. 
Thus Bill and son, fill all and each, 
Of the main calls and safety reach. 
So Thaw's exploit and Goldsmith's verse 
Together showed to Bill his course. 

Tho' slacker Bill may feel no pain, 
A screw^ he's lost that held his brain: — 
From such slight accident in kind 
He ne'er again may hope to find 
The way from which he's wandered far, 
Nor evermore o'ertake his star: — 
For now he's quite so far from most 
Of the great honors once possessed 
That all discretion's gone to bits, 
In the one way a slacker flits. 
For lack of judgment in high place 
Most often ends in shame, disgrace. 
So 'twas with Bill — once deemed near-god — 
Now's just a man, or less, a clod. 
So now 'tis just and fair to say. 
Bill petered out and ran away. 

(119) 



MODAL VERSE 



Deflated, he in haste and soon, 
A refug-ee became at Doom. 



*fc>' 



Oh shame ! to think so proud a lord. 
From his own war and folk should hide. 
But lordly Bill forsook his crown 
And like a rock to earth came down — 
In other words, his head he lost, 
And Ostrich-like sought flight and dust. 

Now woman's sympathy and skirts 
Are covers frail for who deserts 
And seeks to hide himself and stay. 
And like in movies, ''fade away". 
But Bill, Ex-Kaiser, made the race. 
And still's in form, but out of place. 
So Bill scarce knows where he is at. 
With less of hope than Ghetto ''brat". 
His fame denied, mere fiction's tale, 
And he in hiding from the gale 
Of world-wide censure that is out, 
And everywhere and all about: 
So Bill was nothing but pretense, 
With pride and wind for sustenance. 
And when the bubble burst, he fell 
And fled to Holland, there to dwell. 
Thus may his closing days of shame 
Be viewed as warnings 'gainst ill fame. 

What we have written here may be 
In Bill's conceit, lese majeste: — 
But bear in mind and note its sense : 
The unfrocked priest of wreck'd pretense 

(120) 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 

Is Bill, proud Kaiser, ex'd, and hence 
All that remain's mere circumstance. 

An incident's a stubborn fact, 
When once it's shown as 'tis exact : 
So now we answer Bill's protest 
By some true incidents, and rest. 
In words as plain as we can write 
Of the ex-Kaiser's one time plight, 
We state the facts in full reply, 
As none can ever them deny : — 
Can Bill regard himself as true. 
Should he his former Hfe review? 
He'd find this picture on the screen, 
And true to fact in ev'ry scene: — 
A man of fortune, pride and fame — 
Successor to a worthy name — 
And ruler of such high renown, 
That princes trembled at his frown — 
Now stripped from head to feet in shame, 
And nothing left he may regain : — 
The strong, full figure of a man. 
So streaked with yellow that he ran. 
And quit the w^ar he'd brought upon 
Kind nations aiding, and his own. 
His cordon bleu* of Prussian pride 
Deflated is— Bill has the hide?** 



*Cordon bleu (bloo). n. The highest distinction of any 
profession. 
Vide : The New Universities Dictionary. 

*His cordon bleu all Junker clack. 
Deflated is — Bill holds the sack. 

(121) 



MODAL VERSE 



Now France her place holds "in the sun," 
The victor o'er all foes undone. 
And now right here we beg to say 
The French stand high in ev'ry way. 
Her people all have done their part 
In this great world e'en from the start. 
As men of genius, great and strong, 
And queens of fashion — stars of song: — 
Past masters in the trades and arts 
And sciences, and all their parts, 
Indeed, the French lead at such pace 
That none may pass them in the race. 
And so the French stand out before, 
All leaders, followed more and more. 
The French again are kind indeed, 
And aid all peoples when in need — 
Nor are they boastful in excess; — 
Their chiefest aim is for success. 
They live and labor, forward urge. 
And strive and struggle to emerge 
And stand above all jealous hate. 
And Europe's nightmare, war, abate. 
Does Jew or Greek or other one 
Abide in France, he's French anon. 
By kindness, sympathy, they've won 
A loyal neighbor and a son. 
And thus the French keep full their place, 
Despite their birthrate's slacken'd pace. 
A master nation — virile state. 
That soon revives, whate'er its fate. 
So now hats off, and all who may, 
Three cheers for France! hip, hip, hurra! 

(122) 



INSISTENT FRANCE AND KAISER BILL 



MORAL 

The lesson of this ghastly tale 
Is not less strange than true, though stale. 
Ambition mad, with poisoned sting. 
At once struck both a prince and king : — 
The venom held its course to run, 
And hence two madmen — king and son, 
Who waged fierce war for loot and fame, 
That brought them naught but hate and shame. 
Thus crazed ambition out for pelf. 
More oft than not destroys itself. 
Its recoil heeds no mere excuse, 
As 'tis conceived in pow'r's abuse: — 

They looked around and to their game 
Invited neighbors of fair-fame, 
To take the lead — mere camouflage! 
That mad-men seek as coverage. 
So Bill, the Kaiser, and his heir, 
Essayed on such mad course to fare — 
A course that led to just the end 
That sober reason should forefend. 
They won at times — oft lost a heat — 
But ended in a full defeat: — 
And thus together met the fate 
That mad ambition heeds too late. 

Now^ each is held in safety's hand. 
From world-wide foes and Fatherland. 
They'd waged a war of frightfulness, 
And brought the world to dire distress — 

(123) 



MODAL VERSE 



And wrongly shed whole seas of blood, 
In ways well known and understood — 
And thus committed crimes for greed, 
Till flight was timely and their need. 
So hence they must, in front of stage, 
Stand chief est felons of their age. 
For blood that's shed at wrong's desire 
Is never quenched — it's living fire. 
'Tis their just state, in fear and dread, 
To bear the curse of millions dead, 
That fell before or in their ranks 
Without e'en sympathy or thanks, 
And now they have new lives begun, 
Not king and prince — but Bill and Son. 



(124) 



NATURE 



NATURE 

"Hozv beautiful is all the visible world/' 

— Byron. 

Awake, frail man ! Kind nature's chiefest pride, 
Thy coronal's the gem of worthiness ; 

Thee God hath raised above all else beside, 
Save His own might, and His great kindliness. 

Awake mere man ! Thy thoughts to Nature turn, 
And from its handiwork observe the care 

Vouchsafed for thee, and therefrom truly learn, 
Thou art the favored of all creatures fair. 

Most favored creature thou, at Nature's hand. 
On land, or in the waters, as't may be, 

On land, or in the air, and understand, 
Thou art the acme of all mystery. 

'Tis not thy mission, then, at all to doubt 
That Nature's ways are held in fix'd design. 

All things that live, that are, or are about, 
Acclaim themselves the work of One Divine. 

Thy vision broaden, and thy thought extend. 
Grasp all the evidence, wherever found, 

Observe and reason, thus to comprehend 

The source of life in all things that abound. 

Fair Nature in no part is left to chance, 
For chance, like dreams, holds never to a line. 

Whereas each season brings the same advance. 
So Nature's clearly governed by design. 

(125) 



MODAL VERSE 



Who does not feel the harmony — the art, 
In all the works of Nature that appear, 

Each bud and blossom from its very start 
At Springtime and thence on, year after year. 

The breath — the life, that ever fill the air, 

The gentle breeze that moves them here and yon. 

The starry nights, the sunshine warm and fair. 
Are Nature's servants ever leading on. 

The growing season for each seed extant, 
And the sweet savor of the dew and rain, 

The care that shapes each leaflet and each plant. 
Show the perfection Nature does attain. 

The myriads of forms of living things, 
The mystery of life scarce understood, 

Thy reason only this conclusion brings — 
All Nature is the handiwork of God. 



(126) 



SUMMATION 



SUMMATION 



I 



The infant years are steps to mount 
From zero-days to days sublime: 
Their small events seem of account 
In the forthcoming reach of time. 
The days, the weeks, the months and all, 
Seem but to pass too slowly on — 
Accumulate — perchance appal — 
For youth to meet and muse upon. 
Life's later years bring not relief, 
But hasten, hurry, disappear — 
Ne'er to return. Alas, the grief 
That age must meet — it may be fear. 
Most favor'd time while lives depend. 
Is all between their start and end. 

II 

This stanza hints of means and ways, 

'Twixt youth's release and age — decline. 

Of duty's calls, rewards and lays. 

Occasions, efforts, and in fine. 

What things are met throughout each day^ 

The trail we pass along or o'er — 

Long hours of labor, some of play, 

Of service some, of duty more — 

(For duty heeds no stops at all), 

To self, our fellows and the state, 

Continuous — whate'er befall — 

(127) 



MODAL VERSE 



Service to God both soon and late — 
Nor yet forgetting the great call 
Of wife and children, one and all. 

Ill 

Kind friends forbear — do not complain, 
Time rushes ever on, nor ceases — 
Each day that passes ne'er again 
Shall see its hours or e'en their pieces. 
Men live, exist, and come and go — 
Grow old and wise, we may believe. 
vSucceed or fail, a time or so — 
The end to come none can conceive : — 
'Tis quite in vain we moralize, 
Or seek to know, or reason why 
Our aim we miss and lose the prize, 
And bid our fondest hopes goodbye. 
We're growing old sedate and sober — 
E'en while so writing we've grown older. 

IV 

So now at last we close this book 
With wishes kind to all who read it — 
Just catch it up and through it look — 
Some faults you'll find, or maybe merit; 
Its thoughts are chaste, its diction clear, 
There's naught herein that's lewd or vulgar. 
It may exact a lonely tear — 
Perhaps invite to welcome slumber. 
The time it cost has well been spent, 

(128) 
LbFc 



SUMMATION 



Its preparation a great pleasure, 

So there is nothing to repent, 

Since it has fill'd time's vacant measure. 

Dear reader kind, who would deny — 

We part in friendship? Shake — Goodbye. 



THE END 



(129) 



